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diff --git a/old/51915.txt b/old/51915.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2d3559e..0000000 --- a/old/51915.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9921 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lentala of The South Seas, The Romantic -Tale of a Lost Colony, by W. C. Morrow - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Lentala of The South Seas, The Romantic Tale of a Lost Colony - -Author: W. C. Morrow - -Illustrator: Maynard Dixon - -Release Date: May 1, 2016 [EBook #51915] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LENTALA OF THE SOUTH SEAS *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - - - - -LENTALA OF THE SOUTH SEAS, THE ROMANTIC TALE OF A LOST COLONY - -By W. C. Morrow - -Illustrated by Maynard Dixon - -Frederick A. Stokes Company Publishers: New York - -1908 - - -[Illustration: 0001] - - -[Illustration: 0001] - - - - -LENTALA OF THE SOUTH SEAS - - - -CHAPTER I.--On Unknown Shores. - -_Pursued by Our Dying Ship. Cast Away Among Dangers. A Pointing -Finger and a Sword. Beguiled by Savage Royalty. A Strange Girl and a -Prediction._ - - -IN range of my outlook seaward as I lay on the yellow strand was a -grotesque figure standing near and gazing inland. His powerful frame was -broad and squat; his long arms, ending with immense hands, hung loosely -at his sides; his hair was ragged; and out of his blank face blue eyes -wide apart. So accustomed was I to his habitually placid expression -that the keenness with which he was looking roused me fully out of the -lethargy into which extreme exhaustion had plunged me. - -"Well, Christopher!" I said with an attempt at cheerfulness. - -The strange look in my serving-man's eyes did not disappear when he -turned them on me at my greeting, but my glance at the forest discovered -nothing alarming. It was useless to question Christopher; he would take -his time. - -I rose with stiffened members. The wretched, beaten colonists were prone -along the beach, all sleeping except Captain Mason and Mr. Vancouver. -With silent Christopher shambling at my heels I passed Mr. Vancouver as -he sat on the sand beside his slumbering daughter; he was watching the -sea more with his blue lips than his leaden eyes. I gave him a cheery -greeting, blinked small since it was no time to harbor old scores. The -effort failed; he only blinked at me. Already I had suspected that his -quarrel with me because Christopher had stowed away on the vessel was -merely the seizing of an opportunity to rupture the strong friendship -between Annabel and me. - -Even at a distance I had seen that Captain Mason's spirit was hunting -the waters, as he stood apart in a splendid solitude, arms folded, and -towering in the dignity of a gladiator who might be disarmed, but not -conquered. Never had I seen a profounder pathos than his when, finding -the _Hope_ foundering and helpless, he had ordered her abandonment and -sent us into the boats. Then had come the most haunting thing that ever -a sailor experienced. - -It was the pursuit of us by the dying barkentine. What sails the last -storm had left played crazy pranks with the derelict. With no hand on -her wheel the rudder swung free. We were rowing northwestwardly, with -the wind, and thus it was that the _Hope_, thrust by wind and wave, -followed us, with wide swerves, with lungings and lurchings, now and -then making a graceful sweep up a swell and then a wallowing roll to the -trough. The fore-and-aft sails were gone, but some of the square -canvas held; and the sheets flapped with a dismal foolishness between -accidental fills. It was the drunken plunging of the hulk in deliberate -pursuit of us that appalled. She snouted the water swinishly; she reeled -and groveled under the seas that boarded her. Through it all, whether -she was coming prow first, beam on, or stern foremost, and no matter how -far she would veer, she clung to our course, shadowing us, hounding us, -as though imploring our help. - -In all the fury of the storms, from their first assaults at Cape Horn to -their beating us down in the South Seas, Captain Mason had not faltered; -he fought desperate odds with the cunning and valor of Hercules. But -this careering mad thing, stripped of the grace and dignity of a sane -ship,--this staggering, sodden monster, mortally stricken and dumbly -floundering after the master who had abandoned her that she might go -down alone into the deep,--was more than the man could bear; and he had -sat staring in the boat, Christopher and I rowing, while we dodged the -barkentine's blind assaults. We were still bending to the work when -darkness fell. It was then that the wind died, and we saw her no more. - -Captain Mason showed relief at being dragged back into the living world -by our approach. - -"No sign of her?" I asked. - -"Not from here. The view is shut in by those promontories," indicating -two headlands embracing our beach. - -"Then," said I, "Christopher will scale one of them and I the other." < - -There was a faint twinkle behind the seaman's look, and something else, -which recalled what I had seen in Christopher's face as he gazed at the -forest. - -"I imagine you haven't slept much," I said, knowing his anxiety on the -barkentine's account. - -"How could I, Mr. Tudor, when she had been following me like that?" - -"Then you have already been up there to see if you could find her?" I -ventured. - -He looked amused as he drawled, "Not all the way," and gave Christopher -a look that appeared to be understood. His gesture swept the heights on -either side and the richly verdured mountains that began to spring in -terraces a short distance from the beach. "This is a tropical region," -he went on, "and those trees bear lively fruit. It is brown and carries -swords. I didn't get all the way to the headland." - -I understood, and inquired, "Did they speak?" - -"No. A pointing finger with a sword behind it needs no words." - -I wondered where we could be, that armed natives should exhibit a -hostile attitude. "Where are we stranded?" I asked. - -"I don't know. It has been weeks since I could even take a dead -reckoning, and we've been blown far since then. My instruments -disappeared while I was exploring this morning." - -"And we are without food or weapons," I added, feeling a thrill at the -prospect of measuring forces with an obscure menace. - -Mr. Vancouver had loaded the barkentine with every possible means of -defense, subsistence, and development, but we had fallen on an island -far short of the one in the Philippines which he intended to colonize. -The fate of the _Hope_ was a vital matter. Most of her precious cargo -was behind bulkheads. If she had not gone down, very likely she would -drift to this island and yield her resources to any enemies we might -encounter here. - -Christopher was gazing at the forest again. I could see only deep -shadows and brown tree-boles under the leafage. Birds of brilliant -plumage were flitting among the trees, and the warmth of the sun bathed -us in sweet, heavy odors. - -"They are coming, sir," said Christopher. - -I observed a slow undulation in a wide arc among the shadows. A -tree-trunk in the outer edge apparently detached itself, then advanced -into the open, halted, and raised a sword. Five hundred other shapes -came forth from the wide semi-circle touching the shore at either end. -Some bore swords, others spears, and still others knotted war-clubs. The -soldiers were brown and bareheaded, and the dress of each was limited to -the loins, except that of the leader, the man who had first stepped out; -he wore a sort of tunic or light cloak, and a head-dress, both gaudily -illuminated with feathers. - -Captain Mason stood motionless. - -"What shall we do?" I impatiently cried. - -Christopher left us and rapidly roused the sleepers. He must have -dropped reassuring words, for the stir proceeded without panic, though -all could see the advancing threat, which approached with an ominous -deliberation. - -"Do you think it's to be a slaughter, Captain?" I asked. - -He gave no answer, being evidently stunned. I turned to Christopher as -he rejoined us. Many a time since I had rescued him from a mob of boys -in a Boston street, taken him to my lodgings, and made him my servant, -his strange mind had seemed able to penetrate baffling obscurities. At -such times he had a way of listening, as though to voices which he alone -could hear; but with that was an extraordinary reticence of tongue, -and often an indirection that had tried my patience until I learned to -understand him as well as an ordinary mortal could. - -"Are they going to kill us, Christopher?" I asked. - -He was in a deep abstraction, and I knew he was listening. "Sir?" - -That was his usual way of gaining time, and I had learned to wait. - -"Are they going to kill us?" - -"Kill us, sir?" - -"Yes." - -"You are asking me, sir?" - -"Yes. Are they going to kill us?" - -"Not now, sir," he firmly answered. - -The glance which Captain Mason and I exchanged was one accepting -Christopher's opinion and groping for what lay beyond it. - -With some accuracy of maneuvering, the leader aligned his soldiers, -stepped out after halting them fifty yards away, and stood waiting, -obviously for a parley. He was showing impatience as Captain Mason still -stood motionless. - -"Some one must meet him," I said. "It will never do to show timidity. -You are the fittest." - -"These people are strange to me," he replied, "and I don't know how to -proceed. They have an appearance of ferocity that I have never seen in -these seas. Many outside men must have drifted to this island, but I'll -warrant that none ever left it, for I've never heard of anything that -looks just like this. I imagine it is the graveyard of the unreported -wrecks that happen in this part of the Pacific." - -I was surprised at the grayness in his face and the glaze in his eyes. -What could our two hundred and fifty men, women, and children, helpless -as they were, do without his shrewdness and courage? - -"Then we have all the more to do," I urged. - -He squared himself, and said: "We three will meet them. Put yourself -forward. Your height and strength will impress them." - -It looked odd that he did not include Mr. Vancouver, the leader of our -enterprise, and Lee Rawley, the aristocratic and disdainful young lawyer -whom Mr. Vancouver hoped that Annabel would marry. - -[Illustration: 0021] - -Meanwhile, the leader of the savages, a man of commanding size and -manner, had been growing more impatient, and was putting his men through -some manual that hinted at barbarous proceeding; but when we started -he desisted, and met us with urbane gestures. Then ensued a struggle to -find a means of communication. Both Captain Mason and I knew something -of the Pacific languages, he from a sailor's experience and I from -having fought as a first lieutenant in the Philippines during the war -with Spain; but apparently our combined resources failed. Finally we -caught a Spanish word and then a German. It remained for Christopher to -discover that the embassador spoke some pidgin-English with his tongue -and all languages with his gestures. Thus we learned that the gracious -King Rangan had sent Gato, commander-in-chief of the army, with an -escort of honor to conduit us to the imperial presence. - -Captain Mason and I carefully avoided each other's eyes. The tomb-like -mask that Christopher knew how to wear was on his face. - -As there were two armed savages to each colonist throat, there was -nothing to do but accept. In a dismal procession guarded by the -soldiers, we labored through the sand and sank into the scented forest. - -After a walk through flagrant aisles of shade and color, we came upon a -wide sweep where the undergrowth had been cleared away; in its place -was a cluster of huts made of bamboo and thatch. The central space was -occupied by one more imposing than the others. The matting curtain -at the door was drawn aside after we had been seated before it on the -ground, and a sturdy figure, followed by a striking retinue, came forth -and took an elevated seat on a platform extending from the house. - -The king's gorgeous robe of a light fabric adorned with feathers and -embroidered with gold was worn with a knowledge of its impressiveness. -A wide band of gold embedded with gems served for a crown; the blazing -scepter and massive wristlets and anklets were of like materials; the -ears and fingers flashed with jewels. The royal face was benignant. Gato -stepped forth to interpret, as the king's immediate followers, dressed -in long embroidered garments of native texture, ranged about the throne. - -The attendant swinging a large feather fan over the king's head was the -only woman discoverable. There was a striking difference between her and -the men. It was manifest in a prouder poise of the head, in a look -of higher intelligence, and in a finer definition of features. The -eagerness with which her glance ran over us, a shyness that struggled -with an impulse to a bolder scrutiny, combined with a certain refinement -of bearing to set her apart. She was raimented with no less barbaric -splendor than the king and his immediate attendants, but in better -taste. Her brown bare arms and neck were turned on the graceful lines of -youth, and her wrists and hands were small. Her hair, instead of having -the glistening blackness of the men's, housed some of the sun's gold; -and I was startled to discover finally that her eyes were a deep blue. - -At last her roving glance was caught and held by me. In her eyes was -a moment of hungry inquiry. She caught her breath; a break came in the -regular swing of the fan, and her eyelids drooped. - -My fascinated attention to her was diverted by a deep rumble. King -Rangan was speaking. - - - - -CHAPTER II.--The Falling of a Fong - -_A Royal Feast. The Fan-Bearer's Significant Conduct. A Gloomy Forecast. -Had Any Before Us Escaped? The King's Promise. Prisoned in Paradise._ - - -THE interpreter made a genuflection to the throne, and beckoned to -Captain Mason and me. I thought that Mr. Vancouver ought to be included, -but the skipper ignored my inquiring glance, and stepped forward. After -bowing, we stood waiting. - -The king gave us a shrewd look. Then his eyes blazed, and he ripped -out something to the interpreter. I discovered the cause. My faithful -Christopher had brought up his prodigious strength for a possible -emergency, and it was clear that the king was offended by the grotesque -figure. - -The interpreter hesitated, for he knew Christopher's speech-value, and -the king snapped out another command. I knew it was an order that -some shame be put upon Christopher. At that my muscles hardened, and I -stepped protectingly before him. The fan over the king's head abruptly -stopped. The leader raised his hand, and a dozen of his men advanced. - -Dimly aware that Captain Mason was employing some pacific measures, I -was more concerned by Annabel's surprising act. Her eyes shining and her -cheeks aglow, she briskly came up, laid her hand on Christopher's arm, -and sweetly said: - -"Come and stay back here with us." - -His pathetic look went questioningly from her to me, and he held -his ground. I glanced round to see what next the king would do. With -astonishment or wonder the fan-bearer was staring at Annabel, who made -a striking picture; then she whispered into the royal ear. In a milder -voice he said something to the interpreter, who by a gesture to us -indicated that the king was satisfied. At a word from me, Christopher -came and stood beside me. - -His ostensible purpose proved to be merely a formal welcome, an -ascertainment of our origin, purpose, and disaster, and an invitation to -a feast. - -As the others of the colony were in too dull a state to give attention, -the king confined to us three a shrewd scrutiny. But Captain Mason and -I, feeling that the welcome was only a sheathed sword, held blank faces, -and did not even pass a glance of understanding; and Christopher could -be depended on under all circumstances to give no betraying sign. -The one thing to do was to show a grateful acquiescence. The time -for planning would come when our people were capable of thought and -action,--if we should be spared that long. - -It was indeed a feast. The smoke which Christopher had seen rose from -a barbecue, at which fresh meat and fowls and fish had been deliciously -cooked. The completeness of the preparations indicated that they must -have been begun immediately after our landing. Fragrant boughs were -spread on the ground near the barbecue trench, and on them we seated -ourselves. Plantain leaves made excellent platters. Roasted yams, bread -made of ground seed or grain, and fruits of many kinds, were served in -abundance. - -The effect was magical; the down-hearted took cheer, and laughter -ran through the trees. Much of the transformation was wrought by the -solicitous attentions of the servers; but more cheering was the gracious -friendliness of the king, who, besides personally directing the service, -mingled with us in a democratic way, yet with no sacrifice of dignity. - -Most fascinating to me was the fan-bearer. Whereas the warriors stood -in awe of his Majesty, she treated him with almost a flippant disregard. -She went among the colonists, keenly anxious that all should be pleased, -her face breaking into bewitching smiles, her mischievous eyes dancing, -her musical laugh rippling. The distinction in her manner as she had -stood behind the throne was augmented in the modest abandon of her role -of hostess. The alertness of her glance, the joyous spirits that bubbled -out of her light pose and movement, her sprite-like airiness, her -obvious efforts to restrain an instinct to play, to tease, to get into -mischief, a running over of kindness and happiness,--these and more -elusive qualities set her apart from the men and made them look dull and -sordid. - -[Illustration: 0029] - -Her greatest interest was in Annabel, the only highly cultured woman -in our party, since the colony was composed of workers in practical -industries. The two girls had no language in common, and appeared -sharply different in temperament and training; yet there was visible -between them a bond of feminine sympathy such as no man can understand. -It was curious that the savage one was not abashed before her highly -civilized sister. In the gentle eagerness with which she served Annabel, -frankly studied her, and courted her notice, was something that looked -pathetically like the yearning of a starved soul for what Annabel -had--the enjoyment of a birthright. Annabel appeared to see that -longing, and she stretched forth a friendly hand into the fan-bearer's -darkness. - -Captain Mason, Christopher, and I formed a group. Despite the grief and -anxiety on the sailor's face, he betrayed his share of the sunshine that -the girl bestowed on all. She came to us often, and there was a touch -of shyness not visible when she flitted among the others. Virtually -ignoring me, she gave some attention to the captain, and was -particularly solicitous toward Christopher. She stuffed him, and laughed -at him. Christopher enjoyed it, gazed up into her sparkling eyes, and -strained his ribs with the food that she coaxingly urged upon him. - -On one of her visits I smilingly handed her a little pocket toilet-case -which I carried. She took it gingerly, examined it curiously, and with -childish interest inspected its contents. Her surprise at discovering -the mirror was not so great as I had expected, and did not look quite -sincere. She held it up, made a grimace at her reflection, thrust out -at it a tongue as sweet and pink as a baby's, tossed the kit back at me, -and went dancing off in a swirl of laughter. - -Presently she demurely returned on a pretense of looking after -Christopher's wants, and of a sudden, brilliantly smiling, held out her -hand for the trinket. I gave it to her. Her eyes fell when I looked up -closely into them, and in agitation she thrust the case into her bosom. -I discovered that Annabel was curiously observing her. - -Captain Mason gazed thoughtfully after her as she left, and remarked: - -"That girl is going to be mixed up with our fate." - -"What do you make of her?" - -"An eaglet hatched by buzzards." - -Christopher's evident regard for her was dazzled wonder. - -"You like her, Christopher?" I asked. - -He was serious at all times, and much of his gravity was sadness. He -nodded impressively. - -"Yes, sir." - -"She has fed you well." - -"Yes, sir." He spread his immense hands over his stomach. - -"I'll ask her to bring you some more," I said. - -His face showed alarm. "Don't, sir! I'd shorely bust." - -"But you wouldn't have to eat more, even if she brought it." - -"Yes, I would, sir." - -"Why?" - -"I'd jess _have_ to, sir." This with a solemn helplessness. - -"He has taken her measure," dryly remarked Captain Mason. - -He had found opportunity to study the splendid jewels so abundantly -adorning the king and the girl. - -"Those gems," he said, "were cut by European lapidaries." - -There was a disturbing suggestion in his words, but I could not define -it. This island had received rich treasures from civilization. Here was -a mystery. - -"How do you account for them?" I asked. - -"The typhoon makes many wrecks. There's no knowing what shores they -crawl up on to die." - -"Yes; but you see that although our ship was wrecked, we came ashore. -Survivors of other wrecks likely have had the same experience." - -"No doubt." - -"Then, why haven't they given out news of this island? It is evidently -very rich, and----" - -He gave me an obscure look, and turned away with the remark: - -"I think you'll find the reason in a few hours." - -He must have felt the hurt in my silence, and opened a confidence on -another tack. - -"You have noticed, Mr. Tudor, that there are no women, children, nor -domestic animals in this village. Do you infer anything from that?" - -"What is your inference, Captain?" - -"The village is not inhabited. The natives live back of those mountains -to the west. This is merely a receiving-station for wrecks and -castaways." - -The shrewdness of the king was not hidden by his hospitality. I did -not overlook the inquiries that he made among the colonists with Gato's -help, nor his private colloquy with Mr. Vancouver, nor the thoughtful -look of that gentleman when it was over. - -The banquet was ended; the colony was reassembled before the throne; the -king, backed by his now sedate fan-wielder, seated himself; and Captain -Mason, Christopher, and I stood ready. We were made to understand the -following: - -We had not been invited to this island, but the misfortune that landed -us on it would be respected. Two circumstances ruled the situation. One -was that no vessels from the outside world ever put in here, and hence -our means of escape were restricted to such resources as the king might -devise; the other, that our intercourse with the people would not be -permitted beyond a certain limit. The king explained that in youth he -had gone abroad and found that the ways of white people were not suited -to the islanders, who would be demoralized should they come under our -civilization. - -At intervals he sent his people, two or three at a time, in a small -boat to the nearest islands, some hundreds of miles away, with native -products for barter. But so great had been their precautions that the -situation of the island had never been discovered. In these boats one or -two of us would be taken away at a time, and thus placed in the path of -ships that would assist us homeward. - -In order to keep us isolated from the people, we were to be conduced at -once to a pleasant valley, which would be free to us for our exclusive -use. Natives skilled in farming would be furnished us for a time as -instructors; but it would be expected that we should pledge our honor -not to make any attempt to leave the valley without permission. - -Every heart among us sank. A deep look was in Captain Mason's eyes. It -was on the end of my tongue to say, "Captain, let him know that we can -make our own vessels and leave in them;" but a glance at him informed -me that he had forgotten nothing, and that anything but a cheerful -acceptance of the old bandit's conditions, until we might devise and -execute plans of our own, would precipitate immediate disaster. And then -I understood why the captain had asked no question about the barkentine. - -He said to me, under his breath: - -"You have an easy tongue. We must keep our people blind for the present. -Brace them up and flatter the king." - -The colonists were in the apathy of weariness and repletion. The glow -with which I put the situation to them was barely needed to secure their -acquiescence. - -I turned to the king. Only with difficulty could I see him clearly -through the intensely dramatic picture made by the girl. All through the -conference I had seen her intense anxiety. What did it mean? With her -sweet audacity, she might have made some sign. As I read her conduct, -it betrayed a terrible uneasiness lest we refuse or were ungracious. -Clearly she was greatly relieved by our acceptance. - -I thanked the king and gratefully accepted his proffers. He then -informed us that we should immediately be conducted to our valley, made -comfortable, and supplied with everything needful. - -The cavalcade, conduced by the armed guard, started through the -enchanted forest, and mysteries throbbed in the very air. Never had I -seen so pathetic a spectacle as this draggling procession of civilized -people marched as dumb cattle to the shambles by a horde of savages. - -Captain Mason, Christopher, and I stood apart as the others filed past. -The man of the sea was in a deep reverie. - -"If the king," I said, "has been so careful to conceal this island from -the world, why should he plan sending us away to betray it?" - -Captain Mason gave me a slow look. - -"Do you think that he intends to send us away?" he asked. - -"If not, he hasn't sent other castaways off, and we'll find them here." - -Again that slow look, but I felt that it saw too far to include me. He -shook his head, and said, as though talking to himself: - -"Now begins the great struggle. We'll be patient--and ready. That girl -is our hope." - -The king descended; the fan-bearer, her face mantled with content, -disappeared within the administration hut and dropped the curtain. The -rear guard were waiting for us three, and we started. After a few paces, -I turned, and saw, as I had hoped to see, a brown face watching us -through the parted curtain, and it was filled with more mysteries than -any enchanted forest ever held. - -On and up we went, and finally reached the summit. We stood on a small -open plateau, which abruptly ended in a precipice. Before us was a giant -chasm in a great tableland of lava. The floor was a thousand feet below. -We were looking down on it from the top of the great wall of columnar -basalt which enclosed it. The chasm was an irregular ellipse, some three -miles on its minor axis and five on its major. The floor was level, and, -except for some farms, was covered with a forest. A breeze sent long, -unctuous waves of lighter green rolling over it, or swirling in graceful -spirals where the wall deflected the wind and drifted it on in majestic -eddies. - -In splendid contrast to the deep, warm colors below was the gloomy black -of the mighty enclosing rampart. Near the upper end a beautiful stream, -nearly a river in size, made a wild, joyous leap over the brink. A lake -into which the water plunged sent up clouds of mist, out of which sprang -a rainbow. From the lake ran the stream of molten silver which swung -lazily on its shining way through the valley till lost in the distance. -The leader of the guard announced that the valley was our destination. -I was dumb in the grasp of its witchery, but a quiet voice brought me -back: - -"As good a prison as another." Captain Mason had spoken. - -"Why, man," I cried, "that is Paradise!" - -"No doubt; but the flaming sword will keep us in, not out." - -During the march I had not failed to keep Christopher in the corner of -my eye. I had been trying to read in his face one of those flashes of -insight which his fine instinct sometimes threw into dark places. He had -held his listening attitude often since I found him standing beside me -on the sand. It had given his face a certain leaden alertness, which, -as we beheld the valley, slowly faded into the habitual blankness, and I -saw that it was useless to question him. - -We descended through a steep, narrow cleft, and were marched through a -forest to the stream. A rude bridge bore us across, and there we found -a large number of natives rapidly and skilfully building us a village of -huts made from logs, boughs, and thatch. From all indications, they must -have begun the work almost immediately after we landed. Large stores of -food and other necessities had been accumulated; nothing needed for our -comfort and sustenance had been neglected. - -As soon as the soldiers had helped us bring order to the camp and the -building of the village was finished, they and the workmen melted away -in the twilight. - - - - -CHAPTER III.--The Menace of the Face. - -_Accepting the Challenge. The Threat. What the Face Saw on the Bluff. A -Mysterious Visitor. The Fan-Bearer's Conspiracy._ - - -CAPTAIN Mason and I occupied the same hut, but we held no converse -that night before falling into heavy slumber. Christopher insisted on -sleeping outside the door. If any of our party had thought it prudent to -appoint a watchman, no suggestion to that effect was made; but there was -no knowing what responsibilities Christopher assumed. - -The sun was looking over the great wall when we assembled for breakfast. -Every one had a brighter appearance. I had never seen men so terribly -cowed as these since the storms had beaten them down. The women had -looked beyond the hopelessness, and had tried to sustain the courage of -the colony. Every man was now beginning to hold up his head. - -Some of the despair had melted from Mr. Vancouver's face; it was clear -that the lion in him was feebly straining. Mr. Rawley was recovering his -aplomb. Annabel, having in her bearing an added depth and sweetness, had -undoubtedly done much to accomplish that result with the two men, for -there was something pathetic in the tenacity with which they clung to -her. - -On the barkentine, before the elements became destructive, she had been -aloof toward the other women and the children; but on the beach, at the -feast, and on the weary march to the valley, she had given a cheering -smile, word, or deed to those about. The promise thus made was meeting -fulfilment this morning. She had assumed charge of the breakfast -preparations, and, seeing that Christopher yearned to do kindly service, -had made him her executive. I often caught her look of wonder at his -unfailing intelligence, patience, and gentleness in doing her bidding. - -After breakfast the men began to talk among themselves. Captain Mason -went over and said something to Mr. Vancouver, who shook his head, and -the captain returned to me. - -"Now that the men are rousing," he said, "it is time to organize. Mr. -Vancouver declines to take the lead." - -"You are the one for that," I declared. - -"No. You have the military training and the tongue." - -"But you have wisdom and a longer experience in discipline. Let's -compromise. Take the leadership. I'll do your talking." - -"Very well," he said. "There's no need to caution you, but the others -ought to know; these trees may have ears We need organization for -defense." - -At the end of a heartening address to the colony I called for the -selection of a president. Mr. Vancouver named Captain Mason, who -was elected. I was chosen his assistant, to Mr. Vancouver's evident -annoyance. Dr. Preston, a young physician, was made superintendent of -the camp. - -The men squared their shoulders; the women's faces brightened. In a -few words I urged against any restlessness, any plotting,--anything, -in fine, that would have the faintest color of mistrust or disobedience -toward the king. "Be patient. Hold together." That was the watchword. - -Gato, the interpreter, soon appeared with a crowd of natives, and -indicated that Christopher and I, with twenty picked men, should follow -him. A short distance down the stream we came upon cleared land, and -were given our first lesson in farming. Our men winced under this and -the indefinite term of imprisonment which it implied. But the word was -passed round: "Wait. Be patient." The one hundred and fifty intelligent -American men of us would find a way to match any ten thousand heathen -under the sun. Blessed be the American brag! It is the front of -something good behind. - -The lesson was concluded in the early afternoon, for the sun was growing -hot. Gato led us down the stream a mile to a low ridge stretching across -the valley. Not a break in the great wall enclosing the valley was -visible, except the thin cleft which had given us ingress; but I -reasoned that at the lower end there must be a gorge through which -the stream issued, although no sign of it could be seen. Gato made us -understand that this transverse ridge was the boundary of our freedom. -He pointed out two landmarks springing from the walls and marking the -terminals of the ridge. - -The one on the far side of the river was a barren bluff; opposite it, -and forming part of the wall behind, there suddenly appeared a hideous -caricature of a human face, a ferocious gargoyle, rudely fashioned by -nature from the upper front of the cliff, protruding from the rock, and -leering down horribly. It must have been a hundred feet from forelock to -chin. - -I withstood the shock badly, but was steadied by noting the deep -satisfaction in Gato's eyes as he observed me. Unmistakably it was one -of malignant triumph, instantly gone, but almost as disconcerting as the -awful face itself. I felt that the ghastly apparition on the wall held a -significance reaching the very depths of our fate. It was the embodiment -of all the silent and implacable menaces hovering over the lethal -fairness that environed us. - -It had the blackish color of the rock, with reeking perpendicular -streaks of green alternating with dull red. The forehead and chin -receded in a simian angle; bulging eyes leered; below high cheek bones -were mummy-like recessions, and hungry shadows filled them; the nose was -flat, and the nostrils spread bestially. - -Gato, informing us that his men would be on hand the next morning, took -himself away. It gave a creepy sensation to note the snaky smoothness -with which these men could sink out of sight. - -Our party started for camp. A heaviness sat on me, and I did not wish to -talk. Christopher and I fell behind, and the others left us. I could not -bear that any but Christopher should see my perturbation. Several times -I glanced back to see the face on the wall. Its malignancy grew even -more terrible through the hazing distance, and I was glad when the -forest shut it out. If the spectacle affected me so deeply, what greater -hold must it not have had on the natives? And there was the significant -look that I had caught from Gato. - -On top of the opposite wall I discovered near the edge what appeared to -be a large stone table, or altar, and its position with reference to the -face suggested a sinister purpose. - -Now that the men were gone, hopelessness fell upon me. Never had -anything like such heavy responsibilities crept into my life. A sense of -my inadequacy grew unendurable; and, overcome by weariness of soul and -body, I flung myself on the ground and buried my face in my arm. - -Christopher presently stepped away with a sprightliness quite unusual, -but I had not the spirit to look up. Even returning footsteps and a -low murmur of voices failed to stir me. I was recalled by Christopher's -quiet remark: - -"Some one to see you, sir." - -I sat up, and discovered a native lad with him. His loose dress of -blouse, trousers, and straw hat was of the commonest material. He was -as unlike the native men as I had observed the fan-bearer to be, but his -manner was shy and timid, lacking the careless defiance of hers. With a -finger on his lips he beckoned us to follow him. - -In a secluded spot a little distance away, we sat down. My first -surprise was when he began to talk. In a musical voice, he groped for -words that I could understand, and in that way used a polyglot -language, some words badly pronounced, and others spoken with surprising -correctness. - -First, he enjoined secrecy, for should the king learn that he had -come----The lad finished with a grimace, and a swipe of the hand across -his throat. He made me pledge the sun to burn me up, the moon to strike -me a stark lunatic, and the stars to pierce me with their lances, should -I betray his confidence,--all this solemnly, but with a twinkle in the -back of his eye. - -Second, he was Beelo, brother of the king's fanbearer, Lentala, a good -girl in a way, but----A droll shake of his head left her in the air. -Lentala and he were proteges of the king and queen, and enjoyed uncommon -privileges, having been members of the king's household since childhood. -The queen was very sweet and gentle, and they were fond of her. She had -no children of her own. - -And, third, Lentala wished Beelo to come surreptitiously to me in order -to learn English. She had a special reason for that. Neither the king -nor any of the other natives must know. That was all. Would I teach him, -that he in turn might instruct her? - -Our conversation, carried on in a mixture of languages, must be here -given in English. - -"Indeed, I will, and gladly, Beelo!" I exclaimed; "but why not bring -Lentala, that I may teach you together?" I seized his hand in my joy of -this heavensent opportunity. It was a small, delicate hand. - -"She _can't_ come," he answered. - -"Why not?" - -"Why--she's a girl!" - -"But she might come with you." I was pleased with the discovery that the -savage girl had the fine instinct which establishes self-guarding and -self-respecting conventions. - -"The distance is long. Girls have to wear skirts, you know, and girls -are not as active as boys. Lentala, with her skirts, would be seen, and -the king would find out. I can slip through anywhere." - -I nodded resignedly. Only with the greatest difficulty could I refrain -from asking him many questions; but how did I know that he was not a -spy? In establishing relations with him I was playing with every life -in the colony. I observed Christopher. His air of listening to distant -voices was not present, and I felt reassured for the moment. - -Beelo was anxious to begin; and he had his first lesson. Never had -I found so eager and sweet-tempered a pupil, and his quickness was -extraordinary. I drilled him first in the names of familiar objects. - -"What is your name?" he plumped at me. - -"Tudor." - -"Tudor." He caught it with a snap, as though it were a ball. "You have -another name?" - -"Yes--Joseph." - -He began a comical struggle with the J, laboriously twisting his tongue -and lips as he pronounced the first syllable _Cho_ as the Chinese, _Yo_ -as the German, _Zho_ as the French, and _Ho_ as the Spanish; but the -English eluded him, and he gave it up, laughing sweetly. Often during -the lesson I saw in his handsome deep-blue eyes--which were maturer than -the rest of him--a dash of the mischief, the teasing, and the challenge -that gave Lentala her sparkle. - -"What is your name?" he demanded of Christopher, and pronounced it -perfectly. - -Christopher was gravely regarding the lad, who appeared disconcerted -under the scrutiny. That disturbed me; but if the boy was seeking our -undoing he would have to reckon with Christopher. - -He was curious about Annabel, and sent her affectionate messages from -Lentala. - -"Beelo," I demanded, "where did you learn all those words from foreign -languages?" - -Taken by surprise, he was confused and a little frightened, and had the -look of a child preparing a fib. - -"Other people have been shipwrecked here," he answered, peering at me -from under his brows. "I learned from them." - -"What became of them?" I asked. - -He raised his head, and answered, "The king said he sent them away." - -"Did you visit them secretly?" - -"N--o." He began to play with twigs on the ground. - -"Were they herded in this valley?" - -"No." His answer was firmer. "There was never more than one or a very -few at a time." - -I sat silent so long that he looked up, and showed alarm. - -"Tell me the truth, lad," I insisted, holding his eyes. "Where did you -learn those words?" A startling suspicion suddenly came. "The gold in -your hair, the blue in your eyes, the fine lines of your face,------" - -He began to edge away, and I saw flight in him; but I caught his wrist. - -"Tell me the truth," I repeated. - -He gazed at me in fear and pleading, but found no yielding, and with -provoking indifference shrugged his shoulders and settled down with a -pouting, martyr-like resignation. - -"You are hurting my wrist," he remarked. - -"Answer me," I demanded, tightening my grip. "Hasn't white blood mingled -with some of the native blood here?" - -His lips were compressed under the pain of my clasp, and an angry -resentment steadied his gaze. - -"Yes!" he answered, and a sudden change lit his face, as I unprisoned -the wrist. "Don't scare me that way again," he said, half impudently -shaking his head at me. - -It seemed best to desist from pressing the matter further, and pleasant -relations were soon re-established between us; but the matter seated -itself in a corner of my mind. - -Our lesson was delightful, and time escaped more smoothly than we knew. -Beelo glanced at the sky, and sprang to his feet. He sweetly smiled his -thanks, seized one of Christopher's great paws and vigorously shook it, -asked me and Christopher to meet him at the same spot tomorrow at the -same hour, and was darting away. I called him back, and led him to an -opening through which the face on the cliff was visible. - -"What is that?" I asked, pointing to it. - -He caught his breath, stood rigid, and slowly turned his face up to -mine. - -"That on the cliff? It is nothing--only stone." - -"It is more," I insisted. "It sits there, it looks down threateningly on -the valley; it says as plainly as speech----" - -"No, no!" cried Beelo, seizing my arm with both hands, and gazing up -into my eyes. "It is one of the gods. The people invoke it--you may see -the altar fire on the opposite cliff some night when there is a great -storm and the sea is raging. The god brings fish to the king's net." - -He broke off abruptly, and with alarm clapped his palm to his mouth. -I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly. His manner grew -composed, and he darted away and disappeared. - -On returning to camp I told Captain Mason of the adventure. He was -deeply interested, and sat in thought. - -"You've struck a lead," he said. "Follow it--cautiously." - - - - -CHAPTER IV.--Behind a Laughing Mask. - -_Captain Mason Strengthens the Defense. The Extraordinary Behavior of -Beelo. Christopher Becomes a Savage. Hidden Motives Half Disclosed. -Hope._ - - -FORSEEING the time when a visible danger would bring mob-madness to -the colony, Captain Mason gave his entire attention to strengthening -his control. To that end he kept every one engaged at something, laughed -away all fears and doubts, placed all on honor not to breed discontent, -and required that all discussions of the situation be with him alone. - -He impressed the danger of leaving the camp limits except in large -parties organized under his authority. No spying savages were ever seen -in the forest backing the camp, but I frequently found the captain using -his keen eyes in that direction. The questions weighing on him were: -When would the king ask for the first member of the colony to be sent -away? What plan would be adopted in the selection? What would really -become of the persons so taken? What should be done when the first call -was made for deportation? - -Christopher and I alone were in the president's confidence. On the -second night he informed us that he had selected a spot which would -serve as a fortress if occasion rose, and instructed Christopher in the -art of making weapons, chiefly stone-headed clubs and blackjacks. This -work was done secretly in our cabin. - -The daily teaching of Beelo developed a new interest in the fact that, -before I was aware, I was a pupil as well as a tutor, and that Beelo was -as assiduous in instructing Christopher as me; he was evidently anxious -that we should master the native language. I was glad to humor him, -especially as I suspected an intelligent purpose. Above that was my -growing affection for him. He perfected his poor English so rapidly that -I was put on my mettle to learn the island tongue. - -It was a simple task, and we came to use it entirely. To my surprise, -Christopher learned it as readily as I. From the very start he had -helped Beelo to turn the teaching in that direction. The strangest -element of all this procedure was the quick and sure understanding that -sprang up between these two. - -Beelo one day brought a large parcel. He was particularly happy, and as -full of play as a kitten. - -"You can't guess what I have for you," he said with a mischievous look. - -"No, Beelo--what?" - -"You'll see." He was opening the parcel. "You and Christopher are going -to be Senatras." Senatra was the name of the inhabitants. - -He produced from the parcel two native costumes. In addition were a -basin and some brown powder. The boy was in glee as he separated the -articles into one array for Christopher and the other for me. - -He ran to a little stream, fetched water in the basin, and with a -comical seriousness dissolved part of the powder. - -"Your arm, Christopher," he demanded. At times Beelo's manner had a -touch of imperiousness that sat oddly with his youth. - -Christopher obediently bared his powerful arm. - -"Oh!" said Beelo in delight. "You have splendid muscles,--they are like -iron; and you are very strong,--that's good." His finger was timid as it -touched Christopher's arm. - -He dipped a cloth in the colored water, and rubbed the stain on -Christopher's white skin. His care and gravity in comparing the tint -with the color of his own wrist, in shaking his head, in adding more -pigment to the water and trying again, and at last his delighted -satisfaction, were all very charming. - -"Good!" he cried. "That's the Senatra color. Now," addressing me, -"I'll go away a little while. You make a Senatra of Christopher." To -Christopher: "Take off everything. Mr. Tudor will put the color all over -you. Then you put on Senatra clothes, and whistle for me." - -Patient Christopher would doubtless submit to any indignity that this -prankish boy might devise, but I proposed to put a stop to the nonsense. -Besides, how could I assume the ridiculous role that this young scamp, -in whom my indulgence had bred impudence, intended for me? - -"Christopher will do nothing of the sort," I peremptorily said. - -The lad stopped short and looked at me curiously. - -"I want to, sir," Christopher interposed, much to my surprise. - -"You do? You wish to submit to this foolishness?" - -"Foolishness, sir?" - -"Yes." - -He reflected a while, and then said: - -"Perhaps it ain't jest foolishness, sir." - -"Very well," I agreed, willing to humor him; "But Beelo will stay here -and put the color on you himself." - -Alarm sprang to the boy's face. - -"I won't!" he answered defiantly, and was turning away, but I caught him -by the arm. - -"You will," I said. "I'll see that you do." - -He slipped from my grasp and stood away, laughing. - -"I want to do it myself, sir," meekly said Christopher. - -Beelo precipitately fled. - -Why not play with these children? A man who would not was a churl. So -Christopher was arrayed as a Senatra, and a whistle called Beelo back. - -He danced delightedly round the pitiful figure that Christopher made. -It hurt me to see not only how patiently Christopher submitted, but -how wholly he entered into the spirit of the masquerade. His pale eyes -looked ghastly in his brown face. I called Beelo's attention to that. - -"Oh, that won't be seen at night!" he exclaimed. The remark did not -impress me at the moment. - -He put Christopher through numerous gaits and tricks of manner peculiar -to the Senatras, and praised him for his aptness. Finally, when he -taught his pupil the art of creeping stealthily and noiselessly, the man -was so terrible that I forgot his grotesqueness. - -All through this singular performance, Beelo, even though half playful, -displayed astonishing perseverance and thoroughness, as if life itself -depended on the perfection of the drill. That might not have looked -so strange had it not been for the extraordinary care of Christopher -himself to accomplish a perfect imitation. Then the significance of it -all burst upon me. - -I had vowed a thousand times since first knowing Christopher that never -again would I underrate his wisdom, yet over and over I found myself -doing so. While he never laughed in his romping with the children of the -camp, but went into their sports with his habitual tender melancholy, -he never showed with them the hidden eagerness, the almost desperate -determination, that marked his training under Beelo. Thus I came to see -that at the very beginning Christopher had discovered a vital meaning in -Beelo's playing. - -"And now," cried Beelo, "you will be a Senatra, Mr. Tudor! Christopher -will dress you. Come!" - -The boy's eyes softened in a moment under the new light that he found in -mine. - -"Beelo," I said, taking his hand, "let's sit down and talk." I seated -myself, but he withdrew his hand and sat a little distance away. "No," I -gently insisted; "here, facing me, and close." - -He twisted himself round to the spot I indicated, and in doing so tossed -Christopher a wry mouth. I noticed more clearly how fine his features -were, and with what grace his long lashes curved. - -"Beelo, do you really wish Christopher and me to be Senatras?" I asked. - -He nodded, and, turning to Christopher, told him to go to the runnel, -wash off the stain and put on his own clothes. Christopher meekly went. -Beelo began playing with twigs on the ground, and did not look at me. - -"Did Lentala tell you to do this?" - -He nodded again--a little irritatingly, for he had a tongue. - -"Why?" I asked. - -He raised his eyes and regarded me steadily. Then, perhaps not seeing -all that he sought, he made no answer, and returned to the twigs. - -"I want to understand, Beelo, and you must trust me. Many things come to -me now. Your sister's conduct at the feast meant that she wished us to -obey the king. She showed us sincere kindness in every look and act. -And her great difference from the other people,--her sweetness, her -grace, her beauty, her brightness of mind, her altogether adorable -charm,------" - -Beelo blazed in a way that stopped my rhapsody. He had raised his face; -his lips were apart; his eyes glowed with a proud light that moved me -strangely. - -"You like my sister?" he softly asked. - -"Who would not?" - -"But _you!_" The boy impatiently tossed his head. - -The little gesture was so pretty that I involuntarily smiled. Beelo -misunderstood. He flashed angrily, and resumed the twigs. I could only -grope. - -"I don't understand why the king sent us here. We are prisoners, and -that is something which brave men won't stand. We would rather die -fighting." - -Again he studied me, and again looked down. - -"Why didn't the king let us build boats, and leave?" - -He gave no answer, but was very busy with the twigs. I wondered if I -were rash in some of the things I was saying. Clearly the moment of -confidence had not arrived. The boy was studiedly cautious. - -"Beelo, go to your sister and beg her to come and see me. She will trust -me more than you do. I know she is our friend. She would tell us what -fate is awaiting us." - -"No, she wouldn't," firmly interposed the boy. - -"She would, because she is sweet and kind." - -"No, she loves her people, and you might do them harm." - -"But she sends you here to disguise us as natives and to train us in the -art of deceiving and outwitting them." - -Had his smile not been so winning I could have slapped him for his -insolence; but it was soon evident that a mighty struggle was proceeding -under his assumed carelessness. If I could only guess at its nature I -might know how to proceed. - -"Bring Lentala to me, Beelo. She would be safe with you, and she will -understand and will trust me." - -"Why? Her skin is brown. You would not trust her." He was closely -observing me. - -"What difference can her color make!" I impatiently retorted. "Lentala -is an angel." - -"But a brown skin means------" A look of horror swept over his face. - -"Lentala is beautiful and kind and true. Tell her to come." - -Beelo was silent. - -"Why should she not trust me?" I persisted. "How could I harm her?" - -The boy, nervously arranging the twigs, spoke rapidly, but did not look -up: - -"She's afraid,--not for herself, but her people. They love her. She -would never betray them. Suppose she came,--you would be gentle to her; -you would tell her she was beautiful and--and all that nonsense. You -might try to get her to tell you things. And you would find out how -to------Yes, you might come back and plot with your men, and there would -be a great fight with my people and many would be killed. That would be -terrible." - -I dimly understood at last: Lentala would trust her brother, not -herself, in the mysterious plan that she was working out. - -Christopher had returned. I beckoned to him to sit with us. - -"Beelo," I said, "look at me." He complied. "If Lentala were here she -could read my heart. All that you have said means that she mistrusts -me. I understand more than you think I do. You have already shown your -confidence and Lentala's by offering to train me as a native. A wise and -generous purpose is in that. By means of the disguise, you wish me to -learn some things that will benefit my people, but you are held back by -your fear that I will use the knowledge to injure you." - -"No," he hastily interrupted; "only my people." - -"Very well. But you have already shown trust. You simply want more -assurance that I will keep faith with you. Tell me what you want. I will -put my life in pawn,--I will give it, if that is demanded." - -His deep eyes were profoundly fixed upon me. In that moment Beelo -disclosed a soul that had found maturity. - -"You would do all for your people!" he impatiently cried. "You think -only of them! Lentala and Beelo may do everything for you, but you never -think what you might do for--Lentala and Beelo." - -The half-revelation in the passionate outburst brought me to my feet, -and the lad slowly came to his. - -"Beelo!" I said, "I hadn't thought it possible. You and she are the -favorites of the king and queen. You have everything you want. I don't -understand. Trust me! I can be a friend." - -He was looking up at me with eyes in which a pathetic anxiety struggled -with fears. Instead of addressing me, he turned to Christopher and -confidently took his hand. - -"Christopher," he said, "do you like me--and Lentala?" - -"Oh, yes!" - -"Very much?" - -Christopher solemnly nodded. - -"If--if we want to go away with you and your people, would you take us?" - -"Oh, yes!" - -"And be kind to us?" - -"Me?" He turned to me, and so did Beelo. - -"Yes, Christopher." - -"_He_ will," was the answer. - -Beelo, seized with one of his unexpected whirlwinds, threw his arms -round Christopher, and laughed. - -I turned him about, and, holding both his hands, looked smilingly into -his brilliant eyes. - -"Show me the way to serve you and your sister, Beelo," I said. "I alone, -or Christopher and I together, will obey any instructions from you; we -will do whatever you say, go wherever you direct,--cut ourselves off -from every protection except yours. Isn't our trust complete?" - -"Yes, Yoseph--Choseph," he banteringly answered. Then, in a flash, "I -mean Mr. Tudor." - -"Joseph--to you," I returned. - -He put his mouth through contortions over the F, and finally, with a -restful gasp, blurted out: - -"Choseph!" - -His gentleness overwhelmed me, and I, being naturally affectionate, and -timid only with women, forgot my feeling of constraint toward him, and -caught him in my arms. But he did not have for me the pressure and the -laughter that he had given Christopher. On the contrary, he resisted and -then sprang away. - -I wondered what thoughts were perplexing him as he stood off, regarding -me in his odd little quizzical fashion, and was astounded when he said: - -"Lentala says that Annabel is beautiful and lovely." I could not imagine -what had suggested Annabel to him at this particular moment, but I -hastily agreed. He seemed not altogether pleased, but went on: - -"You like her very much?" - -"Yes; very much indeed." - -He looked a little sullen, but soon recovered, and broke out in a very -rush of gay spirits. In a short time he suddenly became grave. - -"I must go," he said. With a gentle, pleading look at me, he asked: -"Won't you be a Senatra? Christopher will help you." - -"Yes, Beelo,--anything you wish." - -"Very well. I will come every day for--maybe three days, and teach -Christopher. You will watch us. When you and Christopher are alone, he -will teach you. But you must dress every time as a Senatra!" - -"Of course." My relief was great. For some incomprehensible reason I -did not wish the boy to train me, for that would have necessitated a -disagreeable loss of dignity before him. - -"Good! And in three or four days,"--an oddly embarrassed expression -rose in his face,--"would you like to go with me--you and dear old -Christopher--to see--the beautiful--the kind--the true--Lentala?" He was -mocking. - -"Yes!" I answered, and made an effort to catch him; but he darted away, -showering a cascade of laughter behind him. - -So I was right in supposing that Beelo had been preparing us to -penetrate the mysteries beyond the valley ramparts, and lift the veil -behind which our fate was hidden. - -"Christopher!" I cried in my joy, seizing him by the shoulder; "do you -understand?" - -"Yes, sir." - - - - -CHAPTER V.--The Opening of a Pit. - ---Insolence and Rebellion in Camp. A Riot Averted. I Train for a -Dangerous Role. Plotting Among Us for the Destruction of the Colony.-- - - -WHEN Christopher began my training and pursued it with such amazing -thoroughness, my feeling of being ridiculous disappeared. My love of -adventure in these preparations was mingled with other emotions,--the -fascination of hazard, a ===wish to risk everything for the colony, -and a strong desire to see Lentala and solve the mystery of her whole -conduct. Beelo was a will-o'-the-wisp. - -Complications arose in camp. Although I had taken care to exercise my -authority in a bland way, it became necessary at times to be severe. My -greatest difficulty was inability to find the source of a disaffection -working insidiously among the young men. Captain Mason had not observed -it, lacking my opportunity, and I decided to be more positive and to -find evidence before laying the matter before him. - -I was intimately thrown with the men by directing the work on the farm. -The labor was exhausting on account of the heat. For this reason, and -because some men could bear the work better than others, and liked it, -I called out only volunteers; but selfishness on the part of some who -shirked brought grumbling. At first I had supposed that this was the -origin of the dissatisfaction, but presently a deeper cause appeared to -be in operation. As a test, and to secure fairness, I adopted a system -of levying on all the able-bodied men and requiring each to do his share -in turn. - -In that way I came down on Rawley, who had never volunteered. When I -informed him one evening that his turn in the fields would come next -day, he stared at me in insolent silence. - -That incident alone was not significant, but it made me alert, and I -instructed Christopher to keep a strict and secret watch on the camp. A -present necessity was to force the issue with Rawley, whose bearing was -a threat to the harmony and safety of the colony. - -He had not taken the trouble to absent himself from the tables when I -called out the tale of men for the fields next morning, but lounged at -indolent unconcern. Annabel was not visible. Mr. Vancouver, sitting near -Rawley, had a suspiciously waiting air. - -The young man did not rise with the others and prepare to go, but merely -stared at me. I went near and said in a low voice: - -"These men will resent your refusal." - -"Are you threatening me?" he said under his breath. - -"Give my remark whatever construction you please," I answered. - -He could not hide his anger and fear, for a glance showed him a -disquieting expression in the faces of the forty men waiting. Mr. -Vancouver looked surprised and irritated as he studied them. The men -in whom rebellion was stirring were such as he had always directed and -commanded,--artisans, mechanics, clerks, sturdy and spirited every one, -and loving fair play. - -"Save yourself further trouble," Rawley drawled in an effort to be -nonchalant. "I'll go--if I feel like it, and when I'm ready." - -Although the men could not hear him, they understood, and a murmur -arose. One of them angrily said: "He's too good to work." - -Then came the outbreak. - -"Put him under arrest! Duck him in the river! The snob!" - -Annabel suddenly appeared. The men at once desisted, and she understood -the situation at a glance. Her astonishment grew as her look of angry -reproach at Rawley passed to her father and found him silent and pale, -as though for the first time he had seen the spirit of the common -American. - -She came to me and said: "Don't make trouble now. Be patient. You can -find a way." - -I turned to the men. - -"Gentlemen," I said, "I must remind you that you have not been empowered -by the colony to enforce its discipline. In this instance it is my -task alone, and I propose to handle it as I think best, without your -assistance, unless I call on you for it. Your attitude and remarks -just now were rebellious, and, if allowed by those in authority, would -disrupt us and place us at the mercy of savages. Leave this matter to -me, and depend on me to see it properly adjusted. Mr. Vancouver needs -Mr. Rawley today. Now to our work." My speech affected the men in two -quite different ways. Some, with a submissive glance at Mr. Vancouver -who was watching me curiously, were instantly satisfied; others looked -a little confused and rebellious, and were not cheerful in their -obedience. They appeared a trifle uneasy, as though something might -be afoot and they had not been informed. All of this sharpened my -alertness. - -After the day's work I had doubts as to whether I should report the -incident to Captain Mason, who had not been present. I felt that -something of an underground nature was at work, and that Mr. Vancouver -was its focus. I could make allowance for a man shattered by adversity, -but I supposed that Mr. Vancouver might have gathered himself up during -the weeks we had been held as prisoners. - -It turned out that he had. When Christopher came to give me my drill in -the forest near the camp that day he brought disturbing information. -Mr. Vancouver and Rawley, in order to be alone, had gone into the forest -after I left for the fields, and talked. All that Christopher could -learn was that Mr. Vancouver was carrying on secret negotiations with -the king, and that a messenger from the palace was expected at a certain -place within the forest in an hour. - -My lesson was short that day. I sent Christopher to Captain Mason to -report what he had heard, and to say that I would take the place of the -native in the interview, if possible, trusting to the completeness of my -disguise as a Senatra. Christopher was to be near for an emergency. - -Skirting the spot where Mr. Vancouver was to meet the native, I -intercepted him. It sickened me to see the sly confidence with which he -approached. Meanwhile, I was aware of the great danger of discovery by -the genuine messenger, for I knew the trailing skill of the natives, -even though I led Mr. Vancouver as far from the meeting-place as -necessary. But Christopher, who had acquired the native slyness, would -know how to handle any embarrassing situation. - -The discovery of Mr. Vancouver's seeming treachery had so disturbed me -that I had some doubt of myself in the interview. The simple solution -offered by strangling the man in the forest kept hammering at me with a -dangerous persistency. We had taken it for granted that his interest in -the colony was strong; no watch had been set on his liberty, which he -had used in plotting. - -I was measurably collected by the time we had seated ourselves on the -ground. Being totally in the dark as to what had gone before, I was -forced to extreme caution, and in addition was some danger of my -betraying myself or of his discovering that I was not a native. - -"Why didn't the other man come?" he demanded in his old peremptory -manner. - -In confusion, not knowing what degree of proficiency in English to -assume, I gave some answer in a lame speech, the inconsistency of which -he might have detected had he been less absorbed. - -"What is the king's plan?" he asked. - -"He wants to know yours first," I answered. - -I was prepared for his quick, half-suspicious look. "He knows what I -want," was the sharp return. - -"The other native didn't know. He couldn't tell the king very well." - -"This is my plan," went on Mr. Vancouver: "I make some good, strong men -think that Captain Mason does nothing, but sits down and waits for us -all to be killed. This is secret. A fellow named Hobart is my leader. -The young men are ready to go with him out of the valley. The king will -tell the guard to seize them and take them to the palace. That will get -rid of the best fighters in the colony." - -"What will the young men think they go for?" I inquired. - -"What difference does that make," he testily demanded, "so long as they -are out of the way?" - -"The king must know." I was solid and firm. - -"I'll make them think they can pass the guard; then they'll find a way -for the colony to escape, and will come back and tell me." - -"But they are not to come back." - -Mr. Vancouver was silent, and his impatience grew. "You will send them -into a trap?" I persisted. Again his suspicious scrutiny. "Does the king -want them to come back?" he asked. - -"I don't know. But he wants your plan." - -"If they don't come back," Mr. Vancouver explained, "Captain Mason will -be blamed for not knowing they were to go. Then his power will be gone. -The colony will break up." - -The ghastly perfection of the scheme overcame me for a moment, but I -must learn what benefits Mr. Vancouver expected from this wholesale -sacrifice. - -"What do you want of the king?" - -"I and my daughter and a young man named Rawley are to be taken care of, -and----" - -"You mean not killed?" - -He writhed and reddened under the question, and under my sullen -insistence. - -Instead of answering, he hurried on: "I will show the king how to work -the gold, silver, copper, diamond, and other mines, and how to make much -money out of them. I will make treaties with other countries, and build -forts, and make him a strong army. All this has to be done sooner or -later, or the island will be taken." - -"What is to be done with the other white people?" I demanded. - -"The king knows." - -"If I can't tell him he'll send me back." - -After a struggle with his anger, Mr. Vancouver said, "The king knows -what he has done with other castaways." - -"What do you think he has done with them?" - -He started at me in a struggle with his patience, and said nothing. - -"Do you think they were sent away?" I returned. - -His fury broke. "No!" he exclaimed, and then suddenly checked himself. - -"Then you think they are here yet?" I drove in. - -He rose in a passion. "Tell the king to send me a man who isn't a fool!" -he stormed. - -"I will tell him," I quietly said, rising and starting away; but he -halted me. - -"Why do you ask those questions?" he said more composedly. - -"The king told me to. He wants to know if he can trust you. If you want -these people sent away,----" - -"I don't! That would ruin everything. They'd send armies and war-ships, -and----" - -"Then, kept here--alive?" - -"Certainly not! They'd kill me." - -I had known this to be the answer that I would wring from him; still the -renewed impulse to strangle him was almost overpowering. - -"I will tell the king," I duly said, and was turning away, when another -idea came. "Maybe he will first send for a man from your people. Which -one do you want to go before the young men?" - -"Tudor, Captain Mason's assistant," he answered with a vicious -promptness. "Then, as soon as the young men are gone, I and my daughter -and Rawley will go, and I will talk and plan with the king while the -soldiers do their work here." - -The humor that I found in the turn, personal to me, which the situation -had taken, lightened my spirit, and I thought of something else. - -"Did the king send you any word about Lentala, his fan-bearer?" - -"I talked with the man about her. I knew there was some mystery about -her and that she was close to the king. I asked that she be sent to make -the plans with me." - -His halt whetted my anxiety. "What did he say?" - -"That she must know nothing about it, or she would break the plot." - -My heart choked me with its bounding. I had gained more than I had lost, -but my heart was sore for Annabel. - -"I must go," I said. "Next time I come I will go to your hut in the -night. Don't come into these woods again. The soldiers----" - -He understood, and looked relieved. After he had disappeared I sat down -in a daze, trying to reason out the tangle. Rawley was in the plot, but -Annabel was innocent. - -A sound made me raise my head, and I saw Christopher and Captain Mason -standing before me. Christopher's face wore its customary vacancy, but -Captain Mason's had a startled look, as though he had beheld what is not -good for a man to see. It appeared to have shriveled him. - -"Before Christopher summoned me," he dully said without any preliminary, -"he found the native and sent him away. We have heard every word that -passed between you and Mr. Vancouver." - - - - -CHAPTER VI.--Witcheries in Hand. - -_A Dangerous Mood. Annabel's Tangled Situation. Heroism in Humble -Duties. The Miracle Worked by Gentleness. Traitors Are Threatened._ - - -NOT a word was spoken after I had dressed and we were returning to -camp, but Captain Mason's walk lacked its usual firmness. What would -he do? There is no accounting for the rashness of a man made suddenly -desperate, and I remembered the temptation to strangle that had assailed -me. Clearly, for the present, Christopher and I must not leave him alone -for a moment. My imagination constructed this scene: Captain Mason, -assembling the colony, telling them briefly that a man among them had -been caught in the act of plotting to destroy us, turning upon Mr. -Vancouver and pointing him out as the criminal, ordering me to tell off -a squad and hang the knave in the presence of the crowd; and -Annabel----Could Christopher and I stay the flood now while the dam was -straining? I feared not; a finer hand was needed. - -We went to our hut. Captain Mason seated himself on a stool. Christopher -gave him some water, which was eagerly drunk. With a significant look at -Christopher, I left the hut. - -There was a good excuse for bringing Annabel now; I had promised Beelo -that he should see her. It was necessary to secure Captain Mason's -assent, and I had no doubt that he would agree with me that a friendship -between her and Lentala might go farther toward solving our problems -than all our masculine wit and fighting ability. - -I reflected on the extraordinary complications in which Annabel would be -involved, and the softening pressure which she would assist in bringing -upon Captain Mason. There was no immediate danger from Mr. Vancouver. He -lay snugly in the hollow of my hand. - -Annabel was busy about the camp. - -"Where is Christopher?" she cheerily asked. "It is time for him to make -the fire for supper." - -"Captain Mason has him," I answered. "Won't you come with me and call on -our president?" - -"I?" in surprise. - -"Yes." - -A flush mottled her cheeks, but she hesitated only a moment. - -"Father won't care, I know," she said, and started with me. - -She was bareheaded, and the witcheries of the twilight drifted over -her. In the distance sang the deep monotone of the waterfall. Drowsy -twitterings announced that the busy little people of the trees were -content after their day's work. From the edges of the stream rose -comfortable whispers between the water and the reeds. The lightly moving -air swung odorous censers in the trees, and every flower poured out as -perfume the sunshine which had filled its chalice. It was good to be -thus again side by side with Annabel. - -I explained tomorrow's plan for her meeting with Beelo, and impressed -upon her the importance of keeping it secret. She showed the glee of -a quiet child in her acquiescence, but she must have wondered why her -father was not to know. - -"An adventure!" she exclaimed. "And mystery! It is delightful. Do you -men with so much freedom know how depressing it is to be cooped up in -this camp?" - -I had not thought of it, and was surprised. Annabel had always been -cheerful, and I had not observed the other women. - -"Isn't it life," I asked, "for men to work and women to wait, for men to -dare and women to endure?" - -"Yes," she answered, looking up at me with a smile, "but isn't it a -remnant of savagery?" - -"Perhaps," I returned. "Yet Lentala, the savage, appears in her -independence to have solved some latter-day feminine problems. I hope -you will meet her soon. Then you and she can formulate a code for your -sex. We are going to see Captain Mason in order to secure his consent to -your meeting her brother. So you must exercise your subtlest graces on -our president." - -"I--I'm afraid of him," she declared in some trepidation. - -"Why?" - -"Because he is stern and silent and cold and----" - -"That is all on the surface. His sea-training has given it to him. -Underneath he has a woman's gentleness and kindness. Trust him. Look for -the best in him and ignore the rest. Just now he is worried and needs -all the sunshine that you know so well how to give." - -She smiled her thanks, but there was concern in her question: - -"Worried! Has anything special happened?" - -"Was anything special needed? His responsibilities are great." - -Annabel was silent,--not daring, I know, to ask more questions. She -had unfolded to my comprehension what the women of our party had been -suffering patiently and silently during the dreary weeks that they had -been held in prison. Annabel must have borne more than any other; yet -she had held up her heart and her head. Dread must have sat on her -pillow through many a long hour of the night, but her soul walked forth -with the sunrise. - -Christopher was sitting on a bench outside the hut. - -"Christopher!" she cried, "the fire isn't made yet;" but there was no -chiding in her rosy smile. - -"No, ma'am," he answered, rising, but standing still. - -"Go and make it now, please," she said. - -"All well, Christopher?" I asked, low. - -His slow nod held a doubt. There was always in Christopher's manner a -suggestion that speech was largely a silly indulgence, and that animals -other than human beings made themselves intelligible without it. - -He fetched a delicious drink which he had made from wild fruit, and -served Annabel with quite an air. Her voice carried music in its thanks. - -Annabel bubbled with raillery and chatter. Presently my anxious ear -heard a stir within. I knew that the man nursing his hurt in the dusk -was aware of the invasion, and that he understood and resented my ruse -in bringing Annabel to disarm him. - -"Christopher," she said, handing him the calabash from which she had -drunk, "please go and make the fire and start the supper. After that, -find father; ask him to come here for me." - -Christopher mutely interrogated me, and I nodded. He shambled away. - -"Come out and join us, Captain Mason!" I called. - -It left him no choice. The darkness kindly falling veiled the grayness -of his face. A touch of decrepitude lay on him as he stepped without and -greeted Annabel with a stiff and stately courtesy, for he was shy with -women of the higher world. The unsteadiness in his manner surprised -Annabel, whose sympathies were keen and quick. I had prepared her, and, -shocked though she evidently was, she met the situation bravely. - -After some general talk, which was directed by me to show Annabel's -suffering, her courage and helpfulness, I saw that Captain Mason was -softened. I then placed before him the plan concerning Annabel and -Beelo. It took the breath out of his body, and he peered at me in -amazement through the gloom. The perfect assurance with which I asked -for his concurrence, a hint that her discretion might be trusted, and -a casual remark that Christopher approved the idea, had effect. Annabel -impulsively rose, seized both his hands, and pleaded: - -"Please let me go, Captain Mason. Who knows what good may not come of -it?" - -I don't think she noticed the catch in his throat. It was the final -breaking up of the ice. - -"Yes, you may go. But you'll do nothing except as Mr. Tudor approves?" - -"Nothing whatever, Captain Mason. Thank you." - -She released his hands and turned a beaming face to me. Pity for her -welled within me. That she and her father, between whom there was -so strong an attachment, should thus secretly proceed in opposite -directions, each deceiving the other, was a terrible thing. No human -perception could foresee the outcome, and, it gave me an uneasiness that -she must have dimly seen. - -"You don't look glad!" she said in astonishment. - -"I am too happy for mere gladness, my friend," I replied; "and may all -the good angels help you--and shield you!" - -She heard the note of solemnity, and turned to Captain Mason. - -"Is our situation so serious?" she asked him, a slight quaver in her -voice. - -"Life can have no serious dangers for so brave a heart as yours," he -answered. - -Mr. Vancouver came up. I could feel a tigerish stealth in him. All -danger from an immediate clash between him and Captain Mason had been -banished by Annabel, but I knew that the future held dangers. I was -glad that she and I had become partners in the secrets and exactions -of defense. With such an ally as Christopher, and such a director as -Captain Mason, we would give an account of ourselves. - -The captain hardened when Mr. Vancouver came. That gentleman playfully -scolded Annabel for running away, and was somewhat too affable toward -the silent, unresponsive sailor. Soon he tucked Annabel's hand under his -arm and was leaving. - -"Just a word, Mr. Vancouver," said Captain Mason in a tone that stopped -my breathing. - -"Well?" - -"I unintentionally witnessed a scene this morning that I didn't like. -I wish you to hear the order that I'll give Mr. Tudor." His voice was -ominously quiet. - -"Mr. Tudor," he resumed, "order Rawley to fall in with the field squad -tomorrow. If he shows the slightest hesitation, clap him in irons and -send for me. There's a rope for the neck of any man who undermines the -discipline of this colony." - -Annabel started, and reeled where she stood. Her father's nostrils were -spreading with a sneering smile; but, seeing her state, he seized her -arm, steadied her with a word, and in silence led her away. - - - - -CHAPTER VII.--Secrets For Two. - -_The Strange Meeting of Annabel and Beelo. Captain Mason's Cruel -Decision. I Tell a Romantic Story and Make a Guess at Lentala's Origin._ - - -CAPTAIN MASON and I had a serious talk in our hut that night. - -"Don't think for a moment," he said, "that my intentions with regard to -Vancouver have been upset by a woman's pretty face." - -"But she is very lovely," I interposed, anxious to turn his thoughts -from whatever purpose he might have. - -"That is as one thinks." I could not restrain a smile at his -ungraciousness, particularly as I saw that Annabel's effect on him had -impaired his frankness. "For that matter," he went on, "her father is -blindly planning her destruction." In answer to my look he explained: -"How can a man let his avarice and cowardice make such a fool of him! -Can't he see that the king is using him as a tool to disrupt and destroy -the camp, including him and his party?" - -I knew, as well as I knew my own thoughts, that a terrible apprehension -of a fate worse than death for us all rested on him, as on me; but we -had dared not give it tongue. Both had seen the naive inconsistency -between the king's desire that the island should not be discovered and -his promise to send us away one at a time, and so had Mr. Vancouver. No -foreigner straying to the island had ever left it, and none except our -colony was alive on it today. But in what dreadful manner had they been -disposed of? And why had we been spared so long? We had been prisoners -nearly two months. - -Whether these fears and speculations haunted others of the colony we -were both careful not to inquire, and were prompt in suppressing every -uncomfortable hint. Captain Mason and I understood that the perfect -cohesion of our colony, taken with our considerable numbers, offered -the sole hope for our safety; and Mr. Vancouver was secretly planning to -destroy our one means of defense. - -We had been sitting in silence after Captain Mason's last speech. He -broke it by saying: - -"The situation is complex. Your interruption of Vancouver's plot and -Christopher's dismissal of the native require us to lay a counter train. -The king will infer from what Christopher told the native that Mr. -Vancouver has abandoned his scheme to betray the colony, and that we are -determined to hang together, and fight it out to the end. I imagine that -the natives are growing impatient for a victim. What do you suggest, Mr. -Tudor?" - -"I suppose I should continue in the role of the king's emissary and -inform Mr. Vancouver that the sending out of the young men is postponed. -Fortunately we have stopped that." - -"We have done nothing of the sort," declared the president. "They shall -go out." - -Astonishment silenced me. - -"They shall go out," he drove into me again. - -"To their destruction--and ours?" I asked. - -"No. But they must go and take their punishment. Then they will hear -from me. You can manage it through the native boy and his sister. Let -her see that they are soundly whipped and sent back to the colony. She's -our friend." - -"That is unthinkable," I protested. "The risk is too great. Lentala -can't----" - -"Don't underestimate her. You have your instructions, sir." He rose. -"I'll be on hand tomorrow when you call out the men for the fields." - -I had risen, and stood facing a commander instead of an ally. After a -moment's struggle with desperately rebellious emotions, I saw my own -absurdity, and abruptly left without a word, to fight for patience and -wisdom under the stars. - -***** - -The smiling ease with which Rawley stepped forth when I called his name -with the others next morning might have disarmed me had I not caught a -look of understanding between him and Mr. Vancouver, and known what it -meant. My dread had been on Annabel's account, but she did not appear. - -Rawley worked faithfully in the fields that day, but I saw the furtive -way in which he talked now and then with certain of the men, and I noted -all whom he thus favored. None of them had a guilty manner, though -a concealing one. It was evidence of Mr. Vancouver's shrewdness in -plotting. - -***** - -Annabel met Christopher outside the camp that afternoon and came with -him to Beelo and me. The boy betrayed a singular uneasiness as they -approached, and, drawing his hat down, stood in awkward embarrassment. -It puzzled me, for he had been anxious to see her. In a glow of -excitement, Annabel was conspicuously handsome, and though dressed in -the rougher of the two suits which she had saved from the wreck, showed -in every line the thoroughbred that she was. Seeing the lad's confusion, -she spared him by giving him hardly more than a smiling glance with her -warm hand-clasp, and breezily said to me as she held out an exquisite -orchid: - -"See what I found on the way. Isn't it beautiful!" I took it and was -fumbling to put it in the buttonhole of my lapel, when she stepped up -and with frank comradeship adjusted it, remarking as she did so: - -"He's very much like his sister, but smaller, and not so pretty and -graceful." She did not realize that he understood English. - -"I thank you--for Lentala," he constrainedly said, staring at her as his -eyes began to burn. - -"Oh!" cried Annabel in amused surprise. "But you are quite too -good-looking for a boy, Beelo!" - -He did not smile, but studied her with a disconcerting seriousness, and -looked from her to me, as though watching for something which I guessed -to be a sly understanding between Annabel and me that might mean -ridicule of him. I saw that Annabel had innocently blundered into a -wrong start. Evidently the pleasure that the lad had expected from the -meeting had gone astray. - -As though the words were wrenched from him by the striking picture that -Annabel made, he said in a stolid, colorless voice: - -"You are more beautiful than Lentala." - -"Hear his disloyalty to his sister!" laughingly exclaimed Annabel, but -I could see that the boy's bearing was trying her composure. "Come!" she -added; "let's be friends, for Lentala and I are, and I want you to tell -me about her." She coaxingly held out her hand as to an ill-tempered -child. - -But he ignored it, and lowered his head till his hat-rim concealed his -eyes. Annabel looked at me in questioning surprise, but before I could -say anything,--being as much astonished as she,--Beelo, without raising -his head, asked half sullenly, half commandingly: - -"Have you and--Choseph known each other a long time?" - -"A year or so," Annabel promptly answered, anxious to show her -friendliness. "He's been very kind. I became a skilful horsewoman under -his teaching, and we've danced together and taken long walks in the -country. He knows a great many interesting things. You see, he was -educated at West Point, where young men are trained to be officers of -our army, and has fought in the war, and----" - -Beelo broke in with a toss of the head and a laugh that sounded much -like a sneer. - -Annabel opened her eyes and looked in wonder from the boy to me. She -was not laughing now; alarm was creeping into her face. I could think of -nothing to say, but was confident that the two fine souls would find a -way. - -Without raising his face to Annabel, Beelo slowly looked round at me, -and regarded me deeply and in silence. Sadness stole into his eyes, and -with it reproach. The mystery of it touched me as I steadily returned -his look. - -As he did not speak, I did. "Beelo," I kindly said, "I don't understand -you, and I don't like your conduct. You wished to see Annabel. To please -me, she kindly took the trouble to come and tried to be friendly to you. -But you treat her rudely. You are not worthy to touch her hand." - -He blazed and went rigid. For a moment he was choked with passion; then, -locking his hands behind him, and throwing back his head and shoulders, -he said loudly, while his nostrils quivered: - -"No! I'm not worthy to touch her hand! I'm glad of it! You send fine -words to Lentala, who has not a white friend in the world! Then you -bring the white girl to Beelo, that Beelo may see how different they are -and go back to shame Lentala. Riding! Dancing! Walking! Ah, Beelo is a -little fool,--a fool no bigger that a toad! But he can be useful,--he -can make Lentala a fool too! And Lentala can be useful. She can trick -King Rangan. She shall be the tool of the white people who want to -leave!" He paused breathless, but there was more of despair than anger -in his attitude. - -Annabel had gone very white. She gave me a glance of new amazement, and -then went forward, seized Beelo's arm, and forcibly turned him to look -into her eyes. With a start she straightened, looking at me strangely, -as if a great light had broken. - -"There's a misunderstanding," she calmly said to Beelo and me as she -apologetically held the quivering figure. To me she added: "You and -Christopher please retire. I'll call you soon." - -We left, and when screened and beyond earshot I gave Christopher a look -of wondering inquiry. He blinked benignly at me, as a dog at his foolish -master. - -"What does it mean?" I demanded. - -"Mean, sir?" - -"Yes." - -"You are asking me, sir?" - -"Of course." - -He looked away, but not with a listening manner, yet the mystery -appeared to demand it. I did not happen to remember that he was the most -chivalrous and the least meddlesome man I had ever known. - -"Well, I'll tell you, sir," he presently said in his slow, gentle way; -"it will be all right." - -So it apparently was when Annabel called us back, for the two were -chatting amicably as they sat on the ground. Annabel's serious mistake, -by which she had imperiled my plans, had been turned by her to excellent -account. - -Christopher was waiting to conduct her back to camp; he would return, -for Beelo had informed me that there were matters which he wished to -tell us alone. The parting between him and Annabel was friendly and held -promise, but Beelo's face was not wholly unclouded. Holding Annabel's -hand and gazing into her face, he said, with a touch of sadness: - -"Anybody would love you." - -Annabel blushed, and turned laughingly away. - -"I'll see you again very soon!" called the boy. - -Annabel turned and blew him a smiling kiss. The lad stood and gazed long -at the spot where she was lost among the trees. - -"You like her, Beelo?" I asked. - -Much to my surprise, a little droop pulled at his mouth-corners. - -"She is very lovely," he softly said. - -"Is that a thing to be sad about?" - -"Yes. Lentala can never be as sweet and beautiful." - -"She is as sweet and beautiful as Annabel, and--and--what shall I -say?--more fascinating." - -His face was turned away, and he was silent. After a while he faced me, -and said, while observing me closely: - -"But she belongs to your kind, your world." - -"My heart finds my kind, and that is my world." He again turned away. -In trying to find a reason why any of this mattered to him, or why he -appeared in a measure to resent Annabel, the old suspicion that had -lodged in a corner of my mind came forth. The remarkable difference -between Lentala and her brother on one hand and the natives on the other -must have some special explanation, and Beelo must have a secret which -he had a good reason for guarding. Christopher and I had probably been -the only white men to touch their lives, and there was in them that -which knew and claimed its own. It was a hungry demand, and jealous. -To see the desired companionship subject to an older claim, such as -Annabel's, was the finding of a barrier. I determined to probe for the -secret by indirect means. - -"The soul that finds its kind finds its world, Beelo," I said, "and -souls have neither race nor color. Would you like to hear a strange -little story?" - -"Yes!" he eagerly answered. - -I sat down, and he seated himself facing me, keenly interested. - -"A long time ago a white man--a gentleman, no doubt--was in a ship that -was sailing the seas. A great storm came on. His ship was wrecked, -and he was cast up on the beach of a beautiful tropical island. It was -decreed by the natives, who were jealous for their country, that he -should suffer the fate of all who had drifted before him to those -shores. But for some reason--that may be another story some time--he was -spared, and the king gave him a wife from among the native girls. Two -children were born to them, a girl and afterward a boy; but their father -had so strongly impressed his racial peculiarities on them that they -were in an unfortunate position,--outcasts in a way, and perhaps in -danger of their lives, by reason of the deeply planted native hatred for -the white blood. So the king, who had spared the man, took them under -his protection, and as the queen had no children, she loved them as her -own. But in time, as the children grew up, the white blood in them began -to starve for its kind, and to whisper of a far country whence it had -come. That is nature's way. She lets us go just so far from the plan on -which she started us, and then she sends a voice that speaks deep within -us. We may not know at first what it says, but--" - -"Just a longing?" Beelo asked - -"Merely that. We want something very much, but don't know what it is. We -are dissatisfied. That comes in youth, when the tides of life flow free, -and before the soul is fully awake. Afterward, when it has ripened and -mellowed, it finds its kind and makes its home wherever----" - -"After a while. But now!" demanded Beelo. - -I ignored him with a smile, and went back to the story. - -"At last the sister had grown to womanhood and the brother nearly to -manhood. A much larger company of white people than had ever before been -stranded on the island came to its shores. The girl and the boy had been -spoiled by the king, and they had much their own way. The girl demanded -that she be taken with the king to see the castaways. It was the voice -in her heart." - -Beelo nodded, and then with nervous fingers began to weave a twig-house -on the sand. - -"Do you like the story?" I asked. - -He looked up in surprise. "Is that all, Choseph?" - -"Isn't that sufficient?" - -He drew a deep breath. "She went there just to _see_ them?" he said. - -I smiled into his brilliant eyes. "I'll tell you the rest of the story -some other time," I remarked, satisfied, because at not a single point -had he criticized my guessing. "There is one thing more," I went on. "Of -course the children adopted the native dress, but their father's blood -in them had lightened their native color, and that must be overcome." - -His eyes kindled brighter; his lips had fallen apart. There was not a -movement in his body. - -"Lad, how did you learn to stain a fair skin so well that it looks like -a native's?" - -With that I seized the collar of his blouse, to tear it open and see the -real color of his chest before he could prevent. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII.--A Crumbling Edge. - -_Beelo's Horror at the Fate Intended for Us. My Visit in Disguise to Mr. -Vancouver. Annabel's Dramatic Defiance, and How She Was Humbled._ - - -BEELO sprang away and scampered into the forest as though Satan -pursued. That gave me no uneasiness. I gathered up his twigs and began -laboriously to weave the hut. - -A gurgling laugh raised my head. Twenty feet away, in a direction -opposite to that in which Beelo had disappeared, I saw him lying on -the ground, kicking up his heels, and, his cheeks resting in his hands, -mischievously laughing at me. - -"You haven't gone?" I said. "Christopher will come soon, and I have -something to say to you first." - -He rose, came forward gingerly, and halted a safe distance away. I -sometimes wondered whether any other man would have borne with him at -all. The wretch knew that I had grown absurdly fond of him. - -"What do you want to tell me?" he asked, as he crept nearer and -contemptuously regarded my hutbuilding effort. - -In a few words I frankly told him of my experience as a Senatra with Mr. -Vancouver. He listened absorbed and aghast. - -"I didn't know," he breathed. "I am glad you told me. You do trust me, -don't you?" - -"Trust you, Beelo? Have I ever failed?" - -"No, but you are always thinking of your people, never of Lentala and -Beelo." - -"You have taught me to think of you and Lentala, else I never would have -told you about Mr. Vancouver and his plot. But don't you see? The king -is using Mr. Vancouver to break up our colony, Beelo," raising myself in -aggressive earnestness. "You talk of my trusting you. I have already put -my life and more than two hundred other lives in your hands. But not for -one moment have you ever trusted me." - -He was deep in thought, and was distressed. Before I could ask him for -the cause, Christopher came up. - -"Something is going to happen very soon," Beelo said. "Christopher, what -did you say to the native that came to see Mr. Vancouver?" - -Christopher wore his stupidest manner Beelo reached round, picked up a -stick and threatened him. - -"You know what I said. Now answer--quick!" - -"Me?" - -"Me?" mocked Beelo, and struck him. The nearest that I had ever seen to -a smile on Christopher's face came then as a twinkle in his eyes. - -"I'll tell you," he answered. "I told him Mr. Vancouver didn't never -want to see him no more." That was a long speech for Christopher. - -"Then what happened?" impatiently demanded Beelo. - -"I done this a-way at him." Christopher crossed his eyes and made a -grimace at Beelo. The act was so unexpected and terrifying that Beelo -started back in alarm, and then rolled on the ground in laughter. - -He sat up. "What did the man do then?" - -"This a-way." Christopher's face assumed a look of astonishment and fear. - -"What then?" - -"He runned away." - -Beelo nodded thoughtfully, and said: - -"The king will think Mr. Vancouver changed his mind. Very well. Now he -won't wait any longer. He will make a demand for one of your people." -His manner was grave. - -He was surprised when I informed him of Captain Mason's determination -that the young men be permitted to leave the valley, and that Lentala -should arrange for their being turned back,--I had no heart to say -anything about their rough handling by the natives. - -"I'll tell her," he said. "I think she can manage it." - -"But are you sure?" I anxiously demanded. - -"Don't worry, Choseph. You are too serious to be happy. Let's talk about -the first man to go out when the king sends for one. Do you wish Mr. -Vancouver to go?" The question came with a keen look. - -"Not if it will expose him to any danger, or give him an opportunity to -plot against us." - -Beelo's look became suspicious. "What do you owe him, that he is not to -be exposed to danger?" he asked. - -Seeing the trend of his question, I was irritated, and sternly said: - -"That is my affair, and I won't discuss it. If there's to be anything -petty and spiteful in the matters of life and death that we are -planning, I will stop everything right here, or demand that Lentala send -some one else to me if it is impossible for her to come." - -Beelo was staring at me in surprise. He turned inquiringly to -Christopher, and saw gentler but none the less reproving eyes. For a -second he floundered between resentment and irrepressible good-nature, -and then with a laugh threw a handful of sand at Christopher. - -"Choseph!" he cried; "I didn't mean anything, really I didn't. And -I'll be good." After reflection he asked, "Who is Mr. Vancouver's best -friend?" - -"A man named Rawley." - -"You think he knows Mr. Vancouver's plan?" - -"He certainly does." - -"Then let him be the first." - -Darkness crouched behind all of this, but Beelo's intelligent eyes were -a light ahead. Unquestionably his mind was working rapidly, but his -speech was slow and had silent intervals. He and Lentala were evidently -undertaking severe tasks and desperate risks the nature of which I could -not even surmise. Some profound motive must be urging them on. - -"When he is taken out of the valley," Beelo said after a pause, "I'll -want you and Christopher to go too, with me. Will you?" - -"We'll do anything you wish, Beelo." - -"As natives." - -"Good." - -"It will be very dangerous." - -"That is nothing." - -"Not a soul is to know but your captain. Not Annabel, mind you!" he -abruptly added. - -"Certainly not." - -"And you both promise that if your lives are threatened, you will try -not to hurt or kill any one except as a last resort?" - -We promised. - -"Now," said Beelo, "I want Christopher to go with me at once, and we'll -make a raft. When we go out of the valley it will be by way of the -river." - -"That is all fully agreed to, dear little brother," I said firmly, "but -some things must be understood. The first is that no harm shall befall -any man taken out of the valley by the king's order." - -"You don't trust me, Choseph," he replied, looking hurt. - -"Far more than you trust me," I kindly but emphatically said. "While -I know that wisdom and a noble purpose are in your and Lentala's every -plan and act, I have heavy responsibilities, and I know that four heads -would be better than two in this matter. I have no right to go ahead in -the dark, and I demand to know what the plans are." - -The pain in Beelo's face deepened, but there was no resentment. - -"It isn't that I don't trust you, Choseph," he said, an appealing look -in his eyes. - -"What is it, then?" - -He looked hunted, and blurted out: - -"That's what you and Christopher are going with me for,--to keep from -harm the man whom the king will send for, and----" - -"What is the danger to him?" I insisted. - -"I don't know! I can only imagine!" he passionately said. "It's -horrible. I think you understand. And you are to lay plans with Lentala -for saving the colony." - -I was about to press the matter further, but a look from Christopher -stopped me. - -"I am sorry to have pained you, dear little brother." I took his hand. -"Will you forgive me?" - -"Yes," with a smile. - -He rose, and his relief was shaded with anxiety. This parting was the -first sad one. I also had risen, and the boy was looking up into my -face. - -"I am trusting you," he said, "trusting you with my life and Lentala's, -and the lives of many others." - -"Yes, and you'll find me worthy, dear little brother." - -"I know." He withdrew his hand, took Christopher's arm and pressed it -to his own side, and peered deep into his eyes. "Do you love me, old -Christopher?" - -"Me?" - -Beelo gently slapped Christopher's cheek. - -"Answer! Do you love me?" - -"Yes." - -"Christopher," impressively, "if my life were in danger, and you could -save me by giving your own life, would you?" - -"Me?" - -"You needn't answer if you don't want to." - -"Yes, I would die for you." - -In a burst of laughter Beelo drew his big head down and laid his cheek -against it. "What an absurd old Christopher!" he cried. "Come." - -He stepped back, and again turned to me. - -"Choseph, one thing more! As the king's messenger will you again see Mr. -Vancouver?" - -"Yes, if you wish.'' - -"It's better. Tell him to send the young men out whenever he pleases, -and to take the passage by which you entered the valley." - -"I understand." - -"That is all. Good-bye." He walked away slowly with Christopher, and for -the first time I noticed that he looked as though bearing a burden heavy -for his strength. - -***** - -After laying the matter before Captain Mason, I prepared my disguise and -visited Mr. Vancouver that evening. He and Rawley occupied the same hut; -Annabel slept in one adjoining. I had previously taken care to note that -as Annabel was helping a young mother with the care of an ailing infant, -she would not likely intrude on my visit. - -The two men were startled when they found me standing silently before -them. In the dim light of a nut-oil lamp I saw Rawley's face blanch, and -I wondered how he would bear the ordeal fronting him outside the valley. - -"Well?" eagerly said Mr. Vancouver. - -After instructing him as to the sending out of the young men, I informed -him that the king was nearly ready for a man, and added that Rawley -would be acceptable. Mr. Vancouver was disappointed that he himself -could not go, but cheerfully said: - -"Certainly. Mr. Rawley will be glad to go." - -I enjoyed the young man's dismay. Not so Mr. Vancouver. - -"Why, man, it's the opportunity of a lifetime!" he declared to Rawley. -"There's no danger. The king will furnish a safe-conduct--won't he?" he -added, turning to me. - -"I suppose so. Your friend couldn't find the way otherwise." - -"Of course! Brace up, Rawley, and thank your stars for your good -fortune. You'll have important things to tell me when you return." For -all his cheering manner, Mr. Vancouver could not conceal his contempt. -To me he said: "Give the king my thanks. Tell him that his kind offer is -gratefully accepted, and that Mr. Rawley will be ready at any time." - -Rawley was a bluish white. - -"Very well," he faintly said; "I'll have to go, I suppose, but who knows -what is really to be done with me? I don't------" With a gesture Mr. -Vancouver stopped the indiscreet speech. - -"Give the king my message of thanks and grateful acceptance," he snapped -out in his old business-like way. "Mr. Rawley will go whenever he is -summoned." - -I bowed, and turned to leave, but found Annabel blocking the door. Her -eyes were wide with surprise. She had never before seen natives near the -camp at night, and never one alone. With unexpected firmness she refused -to let me pass. - -"Father, Mr. Rawley, what does this mean? Where is Mr. Rawley going?" - -The men sat dumb. Annabel's instinct told her that treachery was in the -air. - -"Does Captain Mason know about this?" she asked. - -Mr. Vancouver was the first to recover, but he underestimated his -daughter's shrewdness. - -"Not so loud, daughter. It is all right. Let the man pass. I'll -explain." - -Among Annabel's charms was a certain rashness. Here she stood between -affection and duty, and it would be interesting to observe the outcome. -I was glad that she continued to bar my escape. - -"If it's all right," she said, "let us three go with this man to Captain -Mason and----" - -"We'll have no more nonsense, daughter! Are you aware what your attitude -toward me means?" - -"I don't know, father. I--I don't understand. You have never spoken this -way to me before. Surely----" - -"This foolishness must stop here," her father brusquely said, rising and -advancing, with the evident intention of dragging her from the door; but -something in her face stopped him. It was time for me to interfere, lest -she spoil everything. The risk was in lending my voice to her sensitive -ear. - -"He knows," I gruffly said. - -"Captain Mason?" - -I nodded. - -"Come with me and say that to him," she demanded. I nodded again. -The exasperation and fear in Mr. Vancouver's face did not escape his -daughter. - -"I won't have it!" he nearly shouted. To me, - -"Don't you go, or I'll----" - -I stopped him with a knowing look, which he rightly understood to mean -that it would be well to lay her suspicions by going, and that I might -be depended on to handle the matter satisfactorily. In truth, I was -enjoying the situation too much for thought of graver things. And I had -never seen Annabel so superb. - -"Father," she said, "you owe this to me, and I owe it to you." - -Mr. Vancouver's uneasy face betrayed his predicament. Might he trust my -ability to deceive Captain Mason? was his evident thought. The peril was -great. I was maliciously happy over the grinding of the man. - -Suppose I should make a slip with Captain Mason: that would mean the -hangman's noose for Mr. Vancouver,--I knew he was thinking all that. -I could not resist the temptation to harry him. - -"I go," I said to Annabel. - -She wavered, but her courage rose, and with reckless heroism she stepped -out without looking at her father. - -I followed in silence. She did not glance back, and I think she was -glad that the men remained in the hut. With her head held up by the high -purpose within her, she walked as though she were above the stars and -they were her stepping-stones. Once she stopped short. I was certain -that love had conquered and that she would tell me my willingness to go -satisfied her, and so would send me away; but she went desperately on. - -There was a brilliant tropical moon, and the captain was sitting in the -shine of it on the outer bench of his hut. He rose in surprise. - -"Captain Mason," panted Annabel, "I found this native in our camp just -now, and I wondered if you knew." - -He had recognized me, but Annabel did not see the twinkle in his eyes. -He knew that I had blundered in letting her discover me with her father. -I was amazed at the fine delicacy of the man. Instead of asking her -questions, he demanded an explanation of me. With great caution not to -betray myself, I said that I had the king's permission to take Rawley -out, that he might see something of the island, and procure some of the -gems so abundant there. - -The moonlight revealed the shame that burned Annabel's cheeks because -she had doubted her father. Would Captain Mason have the tact to cure -her hurt? - -"May I take your hand?" he asked. She wonderingly yielded it. As he -held it and looked down into her lovely face there came into his voice a -gentleness, a tenderness, that I am certain had been hitherto strange to -it. "This is a wonderful thing that you have done,--the noblest, bravest -thing that I have ever seen in my life. It was so not alone because it -might have meant a matter of life and death, but because it was hard to -do. I am proud to know and be trusted by such a woman." - -Tears were slipping down her cheeks as he released her hand. - -"If you have that kindly regard for me, Captain Mason," she said, "let -it extend to my father. He meant nothing wrong in violating the rule." - -"He has special privileges, Miss Vancouver. I will pay no attention to -the incident." - - - - -CHAPTER IX.--An Iron Hand Comes Down. - -_Anxiety Over Beelo's Absence. The Runaways Return in Disgrace. Mr. -Vancouver's Predicament. Rebellion Breeding. The Arrest. Merciless -Discipline._ - - -NEXT morning the young men in Mr. Vancouver's plot passed secret looks -and words, and Mr. Vancouver and Rawley wore an indifferent air too -conspicuously. - -Annabel emerged late; she and Dr. Preston had been with the suffering -child that night; but she looked much more worn and depressed than the -night's vigil warranted. I greeted her cheerily, and her quiet smile was -ready. I saw nothing to indicate that she noted anything unusual afoot. -Captain Mason gave her a pleasant bow. - -The colony had early integrated into small social groups, particularly -at meal-times. We sat on rough benches at two long tables under trees. -There was a rearrangement of groups at breakfast this morning, so as to -bring the conspirators together at an end occupied by Mr. Vancouver and -Rawley. Annabel sat with the children. The maneuver of the men did not -escape Captain Mason, who was some distance away and at the other table, -having rigidly held himself aloof from all social preferences. After -breakfast he gave me an unobtrusive look, and left. I soon followed, and -found Christopher with him in our hut. - -"You noticed, Mr. Tudor?" - -"Yes. They will go out of the valley today. Lentala will see that they -are turned back. What shall I do?" - -An amused look came into his eyes. "You may abandon your usual plan of -calling the names of those who shall go to the fields, and announce that -only volunteers need go. That will spare such of the idiots as are on -your list from sneaking out of the fields on pretense of headache. Give -them a long rope. Everything is moving beautifully to a crisis. Take -your men to the fields. Christopher will stay here." - -With the insistence of trifles thrusting themselves into a tense -situation, every small thing of the morning marched with me back to the -tables. I must observe the progress of some insatiably hungry nestlings -in a tree, and laugh at a round scolding from their mother. Never had I -heard so many birds singing at once. The solemn cadence of the waterfall -sent a Sabbath spirit through the air. The forest shadows quivered with -mysteries and portents, and the air was drunk with the perfume of many -flowers. - -Annabel's glance showed that she had noted our leaving the tables, but a -cheery word from me laid her uneasiness. - -Relief appeared in some faces when I announced that only volunteers -would go to the fields that day. Mr. Vancouver studied me, and Rawley -was nervous. A small crowd responded to my call, and then amused shame -swept over the men as I good-naturedly laughed at them, with the result -that a larger squad than usual came forward. I kept Mr. Vancouver -in sight, and was not surprised to catch him throwing a look at a -conspirator here and there, causing the guilty to stand forth with the -innocent. I knew that he suspected something in my departure from the -usual way lately of calling out the men. - -The work in the fields went with a smoothness that gave no hint of -trouble beneath the surface. The conspirators dropped away one after -another, with my pleasant assent. Rawley remained. That meant his want -of courage to join the daring expedition. When the remnant started for -camp I went to the spot where I expected Beelo and Christopher. - -The time for Beelo's appearance came and passed. I had an irksome wait, -and in spite of my confidence in his skill, I grew uneasy lest he -had fallen into difficulties. Never before had he failed to keep an -appointment. His endurance and pluck had been extraordinary. From his -home at the palace to our meeting-places had been a number of miles, -without counting his trouble and ingenuity in avoiding detection, and -the hard labor of scaling the valley wall; yet he had never failed, -never complained, never mentioned the heroism for which his conduit -stood. I bitterly accused myself and Captain Mason for our selfishness -in accepting the boy's allegiance and labors as a mere incident of our -struggle to escape. My heart went out to him now; I had been remiss in -appreciation. Had he been of a more aggressive nature, less gentle and -timid, relying more on force than ingenuity, perhaps my conscience would -have been easier. The task which it had been so easy for me to send -Lentala with reference to the malcontents, must have been severe for -her, and must have involved her brother. - -Christopher came at last, but not Beelo. The man reported all well in -camp; Annabel had been downcast until Captain Mason cheered her; Mr. -Vancouver was painfully restless; none of the conspirators had returned. - -We waited until all hope of Beelo's arrival was futile. Christopher had -been listening, but I dreaded to question him. Finally I remarked that -we must go, as we could not expect Beelo so late. The readiness with -which Christopher acquiesced assured me that he had not expected the -lad, but I had no heart to ask him whether he thought that trouble had -been the detaining cause. We returned to camp. - -Dr. Preston had much patching of cuticle to do that night, for the young -men returned after dark. There had been an uneasy hush over the camp -all day. Upon their arrival, which was accomplished with all possible -unostentation, a buzz arose and gossip leaked. I was with Captain Mason, -who sat silent and in grim content as I told him what was going on. We -were both curious to see what Dr. Preston, a quiet young man of fine -intelligence, would deem his duty after the urgency of his offices had -passed. After a while he came, excited and a little frightened. - -He reported that there were no serious hurts, and that the men would be -about next day. - -"What account do they give?" inquired Captain Mason. The twinkle in his -eyes was lost on the earnest young physician. - -"They were peaceably exploring the valley, Captain,--just a lark, you -know, although it had the serious purpose of finding out anything that -might be useful in the escape of the colony,--when they were set upon by -an overwhelming horde of savages, the evident purpose being to take -them away by force. Our men, though so greatly outnumbered, held their -ground, but the scrimmage was close and savage. They would have won -without the fan-bearer's interference, but her coming up with a personal -guard put an end to the affair, as she called the natives off." - -Captain Mason's amused attention sharpened to a keen interest. "The -king's fan-bearer?" he echoed. - -"Yes; the one we saw at the feast." - -The president nodded. "They have all told you the same story, I -suppose," he remarked. - -"Yes." - -"Thank you. That is all." - -In leaving, Dr. Preston looked surprised that Captain Mason should -appear so indifferent. - -Captain Mason announced no plans concerning the young men that night, -and there was nothing unusual in his bearing next morning when the -colony assembled for breakfast. All watched him narrowly. When breakfast -was over, and before we had risen from the tables, he sent Christopher -for me, for I sat some distance away. As I rose, I had a strong feeling -that something extraordinary was about to fall to my hand, for I knew -Captain Mason's nature and his trust in me. - -That brought Beelo vividly to mind. He had seen hardly more than the -gentler side of me. Indeed, it had doubtless been his own gentleness, -his innate delicacy and refinement, that had held in subjection the -ruder elements in me, so deep was my fondness for him. And it had never -been irksome, though the conduct which it had almost forced upon me was -strikingly different from that which usually governed me. While I was -glad that Beelo was not present to see what I knew was coming, still -his spirit was with me, and so strongly that it was tangible. My whole -outlook was filled with him, and I could not shake off the feeling that -he was really near and observing. - -Under the impulse, I sent a trained glance into the shadows about the -camp, and suddenly stopped, for I found his bright eyes peering at me -from the trees. A closer look discovered that underneath the almost -conscious mischief that sparkled in his eyes was apprehension. I had a -moment of anger that he should be there, and tried to give him a look -that would send him away; but he made a face at me, and with deep -misgivings I went to my duty, striving to put him out of my mind. - -"Call for order," Captain Mason directed, "and make a complete statement -of the affair, omitting Mr. Vancouver's connexion with it. Then tell off -twelve steady men for a guard, and have them arrest all of the young men -who disobeyed the rule. Manage the details in your own way. I'll take -command after the arrest." - -Obedience to authority was a law of my training, but I was aghast, and -wondered if the man realized that he might be touching a match to a -magazine. - -As Mr. Vancouver was the danger-center, I glanced at him. He had been -closely observing the president. I shall not forget the picture that he -made as I called for order and proceeded with the speech. By no -effort could he control the emotions that surged to his face,--his -consternation at the appalling correctness of my account, his ferocious -resentment and anger, his sense of being baffled and humiliated while -being spared from open shame, his white fear that at last he would be -exposed as the arch-traitor. - -I observed Annabel also, and saw her puzzled uneasiness as I reminded -the colony of the king's injunction and the great danger of disregarding -it; her furtive glances at her father; her amazement when I hinted at -the plot for undermining Captain Mason's authority, and spoke of its -secret working toward the destruction of the colony; the blanching of -her cheeks when I described the effort of the young men to slip out of -the valley, their being beaten and bound, and the mercy that had spared -them, whipped and wounded, to sneak back in darkness to camp; and the -lie they told to cover their treachery and shame. - -There was a tense pause when I had done, and then I called out the -names of the guilty. So overwhelming had been the presentation, that, -as Captain Mason must have foreseen, there was no time for immediate -reaction toward mutiny. I called out the guard. A death-like stillness -followed. Captain Mason was standing with the silence and firmness -of stone. I stole a glance at Beelo and saw that he had slipped round -through the trees to be nearer. - -I rapped out an order for the guard to step forward. They looked round -curiously at one another, some with a half-smile as they glanced at -Captain Mason, to see if he approved. His face was expressionless. -I repeated the order, more peremptorily, and in slowly rising they -regarded me curiously and in some wonder, as they had never seen me -with such a bearing. Whatever they saw and heard quickened their action. -There was an impressive solemnity in the proceeding, and it strengthened -them moment by moment. I did not hurry them, since it was clear that a -sense of serious responsibility was rising in them. - -"Lenardo, step forward and submit to arrest," I sharply said to one of -the recalcitrants, a decent young carpenter. - -He paled, then flushed, and blunderingly turned to Mr. Vancouver. But -that gentleman was gazing at me with all the hate of his soul. Annabel -shrank under the significance of Lenardo's silent appeal to her father. -Receiving no guidance from Mr. Vancouver, the young culprit sent a -fluttering, desperate look abroad, picking out his guilty associates. -All the comfort he got from them was a frightened glance in return. - -The impaled man wriggled awkwardly to his feet,--for I was giving him -time,--and with a grin and shrug made a pitiful attempt to treat the -arrest as a pleasantry. - -"Stand facing that end of the guard-line," I ordered, pointing. - -"Come, Henry," he said to one of the conspirators. The bravado was -clearly sham. - -"No talking!" I ripped out. - -It jerked Lenardo straight, and he came forward and stood where I had -directed. - -The young man addressed as Henry slouched up with a faint trace of -Lenardo's swagger, but my sharp "Step lively!" electrified him into -firmer action, and his grin went sour. - -"Hobart!" I next called. I selected him for the third, for I knew his -independent, rebellious nature, his courage and pride, and wished the -severest test of the discipline to come at once. - -Because we had been good friends and he knew that I respected him, -he stared incredulously, but found me a stranger. Then a vicious look -flared in his face, and, still sitting, he fingered the handle of a -heavy iron vessel on the table while regarding me defiantly. - -I waited, and then called him again. - -"I won't be made a fool of in this way!" he cried, rising, his face -blazing, his hold on the iron vessel tightening. - -"You two guards on the left, do your duty!" I commanded. - -They hesitatingly advanced upon him. Making a great scattering of -frightened women and children, Hobart stepped back, brandished the -vessel, and shouted: - -"I'm a free American citizen, I am! I'm a law-abiding man and I know my -rights! Stand back, there," to the guards, "or I'll------" - -"Two more guards from the left. Step lively!" I called. - -The advance of the four guards was checked by a diversion. Mr. -Vancouver, who had been sitting in apathetic silence, suddenly spoke out -with biting clearness: - -"Hobart, it is the duty of every one here to submit to authority." - -The young man opened his mouth in astonishment, and instantly drooped; -the vessel clattered from his hand to the ground. - -"I won't make trouble now," he grumbled, "but we've been played low down -by somebody, and I'll-----" - -"Silence!" I said. - -With a threatening shoulder-lift at Mr. Vancouver, which deepened that -gentleman's pallor, Hobart sullenly fell in. I quickly called out the -other culprits; all obeyed and stood in line facing the guard. Then I -looked round at Captain Mason for orders. - - - - -CHAPTER X.--The Finding of a Man. - -_Shame and Horror Follow Disobedience. A Violent Outbreak and Its -Result. The Heads That Struck a Wall. A Frightened Face Among the -Trees._ - - -THE president said nothing, but gave a signal to Christopher, who -brought up a basket containing rope-ends and strips of cloth, of native -manufacture. I understood what I was next to do, and under ordinary -circumstances should have thought of nothing but the doing; but now -a coldness seized my heart, for I thought of Beelo, as a horrified -witness. - -There was a craning to see what the basket held, and then came a quick -drawing of the breath and afterward a hiss as the truth dawned on those -of quick perception. - -Picking up a rope-end, I stood facing the crowd in silence until perfect -stillness had come. Then I went to Lenardo, the first in line, and said -to the guard: - -"Are any of you experienced in tying a man's hands?" - -A head-shake was the response of each. - -"Then observe how this is done," I said. And to Lenardo, "Turn your back -and cross your wrists behind you." - -All the blood fled his face. He glanced about with a shamed, beseeching -helplessness, his eyes wide with horror and his look an appeal for -protection from the outrage. - -"Turn, and cross your wrists," came my command as evenly as before. - -The prisoner obeyed, his hands trembling. - -"Cross your wrists." My tone was such as a farrier might use to a horse -he was shoeing. - -Lenardo crossed them. - -"Observe," I repeated to the guards, as I quickly wound the cord and -knotted it. - -Hobart watched the proceeding narrowly, his face growing more livid, -his eyes bulging farther, his breathing uneven. Once he sent a flaming -glance at Mr. Vancouver, who winced under it, and sat with a sickly, -shrunken look. I knew that the supreme test of discipline lay ahead, and -I was warming to the situation. - -"Tie the next one," I said to two of the guards, handing them a strip. -At the same time, no longer able to resist a glance at Beelo, I found -in his stricken face so strange a look that it disconcerted me for a -moment. It looked to be both horror and appeal. But my duty was plain. - -I stood by and observed the clumsy work of the two guards in tying -the second man, who, meeker than Lenardo,--although both were manly -fellows,--submitted more promptly. - -Hobart's turn came next. He was looking about as a trapped beast, and he -swayed and muttered. It was clear that under the approaching degradation -he was letting his wits tangle. - -Some women, sickened by the scene, and fearing a tragedy from Hobart, -slipped away, a few softly crying, others very white. They hid in a -huddle behind the storehouse, the mothers taking their children. - -"One more turn. Tighter. Work faster," I ordered the guards tying the -second man. - -They obeyed with nervous eagerness. - -Then came Hobart's turn. I stood before him. He knew what to do without -my order, and I was silent. - -"Haven't we any friends among you people?" he bellowed, stepping back -and hardening every muscle. "Are you all cowards, to let these brutes -ride roughshod over you?" - -"Submit, Hobart," cut Mr. Vancouver's voice. - -I turned upon him, but said nothing, and his cadaverous face whitened -still more under my stare. - -"We need no assistance from you, sir," Captain Mason coldly said. - -He started; a momentary flash enlivened his sunken eyes. - -"Step up here in line," I said to Hobart. - -He wavered toward submission under Mr. Vancouver's order, but my prompt -suppression of that intervention thrust upon him an angry despair. "To -hell with you!" he shouted to me. "You bully! You cur! Here, fellows," -addressing his comrades in line, "don't be whipped dogs! We are free -American citizens, we are! Break away!" He stepped still farther back -and edged toward the table. "Stand by me! Be men! We'll settle this -thing! Come on!" The line swayed. - -"Guard, re-form the prisoners in line," I ordered. They stepped forward. - -"Fight, boys! Arm yourselves at the tables!" Hobart's fierce words -thrilled the camp. - -"Lively there!" I snapped to the guards. "Seize Hobart first." - -"The tables, boys!" shouted Hobart. "Romer," he added to a husky young -man of the party, "tackle Captain Mason. I'll attend to Tudor!" - -Hobart sprang at Romer, gave him a shake, and shouted, "Get to work!" -and then advanced toward me as Romer was hardening for assault. - -As Hobart had rudely calculated, the moment was snatched by the other -prisoners for a rush on the guard and the tables, and they broke on the -bound as Hobart hurled himself upon me. But he was too precipitate, and -lacked training. - -It is doubtful that any in the camp except myself saw how the next -thing happened. There was a muffled crack, and Hobart's feet cleared -the ground, his limbs whipped the air as though he were drowning, and he -sprawled on the earth in a disorganized, quivering heap. A glance showed -me that Romer had been stopped two yards from Captain Mason by a look -such as he had never encountered before, and he stood staring like an -imbecile. - -A low cry broke from fifty feminine throats when Hobart's body made its -impact with the ground. But the entire rush had been paralyzed; it was -clearly the impression that Hobart had been killed, and all were -staring from him to me. The guard had responded; the prisoners were in -subjugation, some by a collar-grip of the guard, others panting on the -ground under urgent knees, still others standing inert. - -"Hands off the prisoners. Re-form the line," I ordered. - -When this had been done, the young men sullen, sheepish, and silent, and -viewing with awe the still body of Hobart on the ground, I looked round -upon the circle till I found the man I wanted. My glance had included -Captain Mason and found him stolid and motionless as he observed my -procedure. - -"Dr. Preston, come forward," I said. - -He instantly responded. - -"Please examine Hobart's jaw and neck," I directed. "One or the other -may be broken." - -As he was turning away to obey he discovered a red trickle from my right -hand. - -"Are you hurt?" he inquired. - -"No." - -He carefully examined the heap on the ground. - -"Only a contusion and a slight brain-concussion," he announced. - -"You two," I promptly said to two of the guards, "buck and gag Hobart. -Do you know how?" - -They shook their heads, but under my direction accomplished what -appeared to be a disagreeable task. The process consisted in tying -Hobart's hands and feet, flexing his knees, slipping his arms over them, -and thrusting a stick under his knees and over his arms, thus reducing -him to a helpless knot. Then they thrust a towel between his teeth and -tied it at the back of his head. - -"Shall I do anything to revive him, sir?" asked the doctor. It was -interesting to hear the "sir" slip from his tongue. - -I looked to Captain Mason for directions, but his face remained void. - -"No," I said. Then to two of the guards, "Take him to the shade over -there, on the ground," indicating a tree near by and in full view of the -camp. - -Meanwhile, the tying of the other prisoners had gone on rapidly and -smoothly. When it was finished, I ordered the men taken to the shade and -lined up behind Hobart, who lay on his side, the guards standing by. The -prisoners were a very sober-looking crowd. - -Then came a lull. I had regarded the subjugation of the men as merely -the lighter preparatory work for some grave procedure which Captain -Mason would direct after that was accomplished. At first I was doubtful -of my wisdom in withholding restorative measures from Hobart, but I had -done so hoping that it would have the effect both of softening Captain -Mason and of impressing the other prisoners and the camp at large. Now I -had to face unknown plans, but Captain Mason still remained mute. It was -evident that, since quiet had come, it was from him rather than me that -the camp awaited the next move; it was his crushing mastery that all -felt; it was his iron hand that lay on every heart. He quietly seated -himself, and without a glance at me waited, his face wearing the -undisturbed calm that distinguished it always in dramatic situations. - -The women in hiding peered out cautiously, and then joined those on the -scene. A slight stir, accompanied with murmurs, rose in a spot where the -women stood thickest, and a shrill voice came angrily. - -"Yes, I will! You can't stop me! I say it's an outrage, and I'm going to -untie that boy and take that strangling thing out of his mouth." She was -advancing, a middle-aged woman, with a determined air, and she walked -straight toward Hobart, ignoring me as I stood near him. "I just want -to say to you, Mr. Tudor, that it was enough to knock the senses out -of him, and that it's inhuman and brutal to keep him tied up like an -animal. If the _men_ in this camp can be bullied and scared, I'll let -you know that there's a _woman_ who can't. I'm going to untie that lad, -and------" - -I had stepped forward and laid a kindly hand on her arm as she spoke, -but she threw it off. - -"Let me alone!" she cried. "If you want to strike a woman dead, you -murdering bully, do it! I dare you!" - -Nodding to two of the guards, I said: "Take her to her hut, and keep her -there. If she makes the least noise, bind and gag her." - -"You brute! You coward!" she cried, making a dash forward. - -The guards gingerly seized her, and she talked and struggled wildly. -But they dragged her away, and no sound came from the hut. Captain Mason -gave not the slightest attention to the incident, which greatly deepened -the depression on the camp. - -Hobart's slow, heavy breathing became regular, then fluttered; his eyes -opened, and rolled unseeing. Intelligence began to dawn in his face, and -with it came an unconscious straining at his bonds. That hastened his -recovery. A wild, clear look that roved a moment and settled malignantly -on me, showed that he had come to himself. His astonished glance at his -helpless state preceded an effort for speech that his gag turned to -a growl, and he made a mighty tug to snap the cords. That failing, he -twisted his head to see the line of prisoners standing bound. Then his -gaze found Captain Mason, who was not observing him, and he savagely -growled and champed his gag. - -I looked furtively round for Beelo, and found him staring at me as at -something strange and monstrous. It was more than I could bear, and on -looking away I discovered the gathering of clouds, and then heard low -thunder in the distance. - -Hobart's fury wore itself out. Humiliation took its turn. Toward the end -came a humbled spirit and dumb pleading. A quickening ran through the -crowd, and eager, appealing eyes were upon me from every direction; but -I waited. From humility Hobart sank lower, for the pain of his cramped -muscles grew worse and worse, making him writhe and groan and strain. -Still the moment had not come. I knew that many a life hung on the -precision of my conduct, and Captain Mason did not interfere to the -slightest extent. At last, when Hobart's dumb pleading had settled on my -face and did not rove, I said to Dr. Preston: - -"The gag--nothing else--may come away." - -He removed it, and Hobart panted: - -"Thank you, Doctor. Take the others off, please." - -The physician looked to me, but I gave no sign. That started a movement -in the crowd, and I had to quell that with a look. - -"Let him take 'em off, Mr. Tudor," the prisoner begged. - -I nodded, and he was free. He labored weakly to a sitting posture, Dr. -Preston assisting. His head rolled, but he breathed deeply, and steadied -himself. Dr. Preston felt his pulse. - -"May he have water and a wet towel, sir?" he asked me. - -I nodded. Hobart drank greedily. Dr. Preston mopped his head and face, -and bound the wet towel over his forehead. - -"Bring a seat for Hobart," I said to a guard. - -Hobart was lifted to it, and thus sat facing the crowd. He had a finer -look than I had ever seen from him; he had passed through purgatory. -He looked openly at the people, and at last his glance rested on Mr. -Vancouver. It seemed to hold a deep meaning. Mr. Vancouver shrank even -more than when he had seen the iron hand come down. - -I went up to Captain Mason and reported that Hobart was conscious. - -The captain nodded, came forward, I beside him, and looked down on the -beaten man, who anxiously returned the look. - -"May I say a word, Captain?" Hobart asked. - -"Certainly." - -Hobart turned to me. "You are a hard man," he said, "but square and -brave. So are you, Captain Mason. I deserved what I got, and a good deal -more. But I'm sorry for what I did, and I ask you to forgive me." - -There was frank admiration in Captain Mason's face, for he was observing -another strong man emerge from the first hard lesson in a discipline -that the sailor had known for many a year. - -"May I say something to the boys?" asked Hobart. - -"Of course." - -Hobart worked round to face his fellow-conspirators. In silence he -looked at one after another. - -"Boys," he said, "we made a mistake, and are beginning to pay. I don't -know what's going to be done with us, but, whatever it is, we must bear -it like men. We made an agreement when we came into this valley, and -we violated it. What we did might have cost the life of every member of -this colony." - -He paused, for he was weak, and a deep emotion tore him. - -"Boys, if I had been Captain Mason and Mr. Tudor, and had protected and -trusted the people as they have done, and they had tried to undermine -me, and to benefit themselves to the harm of the others, I would have -them taken to the nearest tree, and, God help me! I would have them -hanged." - -Not a word of that astonishing speech missed an ear in the crowd. When -Hobart had ended, his head dropped in dejection. - -After a long minute of silence Captain Mason gave me a look. I went to -Hobart, who raised a sad face to mine. But when he saw my smile and my -extended hand, a glad surprise leaped in him, and his clasp was that of -a drowning man. - -I walked away. Dr. Preston next received Captain Mason's glance, and the -scene was repeated. I did not observe the hint that the president must -have given; but while some of the guard came and took Hobart's hand, -others were untying the prisoners, and they also came in their turn. - -There were tears in Hobart's eyes, and his speech had fled by the time -Captain Mason came up and took his hand. - -"You are a man, Hobart," said he, and without noting the effect turned -to the other conspirators. "Young men," he went on, "you are at liberty. -The incident is closed." - -Without a glance at the assembled colony, he turned away and went to his -hut. - -I looked for Beelo, and saw his signal to follow him. A buzzing rose -from the crowd. A hard, fixed look was in Mr. Vancouver's ashen face. -Annabel's head rested in her arms on the table, and she was sobbing. -From every direction I found furtive glances upon me, and wondered -whether I had become a Pariah. The idea was dispelled by the friendly -responses that my advances found, but I was uneasy on the score of -Beelo. - - - - -CHAPTER XI.--Faces Set Toward Danger. - -_Len-tala in Difficulties. The True Story of the Enterprising Young Men. -Mr. Vancouver Faces the Unknown. Beelo Takes Us on a Journey._ - - -BEELO was much excited and torn with impatience when I arrived. Despite -that, he regarded me with an odd mixture of awe and fear. - -"Choseph!" he exclaimed, "you are terrible and cruel! I couldn't have -believed------" His breath gave out. - -"What's the news, lad?" - -The gentle solicitude in my voice steadied him, and he looked with his -sunny smile. - -"You are dear old Choseph, aren't you?" he said. "Oh, everything has -happened!" he flung out. "The king is terribly angry with Lentala for -interfering with the arrest of the young men yesterday. I had to stay -with her, and couldn't come. I don't know what trouble will come out of -it, but the king is going to bring matters to a head at once, before we -are nearly ready! Choseph! those young men ought not to have been let -out of the valley. Gato is now on his way to the colony for a man, and -you must go there immediately to attend to it. You must decide which man -is to go." - -His news, breathlessly given, stunned me. It was essential that we both -be calm. - -"Tell me what happened to the young men," asked. - -"They climbed the wall, and expected to slip through. Why, Senatra men -rained on them! Len-tala got there as soon as she could with her private -guard, but it was too late to save them from a terrible whipping. The -guard had them bound and were taking them to the palace when -Lentala arrived. She's afraid now that the king will do what he has -threatened,--either lock her up or give orders that will tie her hands -so that she can't do anything." - -I hesitated. "If she is powerless, Beelo, there will be no one to -protect the man who will go out with Gato." - -His distress was poignant, and he dropped to the ground in a weary -little heap. - -"Lentala is equal to any task, lad," I quietly said. - -He looked up brightly. "Do you believe that much in her, Choseph?" - -"She's our one hope, lad, and she'll never falter; and she has your wise -little head and your bold heart to help her." - -He came strongly to his feet. "She can do anything if you think _that_ -of her, Choseph," he gently said. Another moment found him his eager, -active self. "A great deal will depend on the man you are to send out," -he said. - -"Why? What awaits him?" - -The answer was an appealing look. His remarks about the earthquakes -and the storms had puzzled me, and while I knew that the subject was -repugnant to him, I was forced to revive it. I repeated a remark by -Captain Mason that a storm was brewing. Beelo straightened. - -"Captain Mason ought to know!" he cried. "The king's wise men have told -him the same thing. Choseph, Choseph! It would be horrible!" - -"Why, lad? I can't work in the dark." - -His look was appealing. - -"I must know," I said. "You are acting like a child, and this is work -for men. Tell me what the storm and the earthquake have to do with us, -or I'll refuse to surrender a man to Gato, and we'll fight." - -"Choseph!" he exclaimed, frightened; then, after a pause: "The people -think the Black Face must have all the castaways, or it will shake the -ground with earthquakes and maybe send a volcano to destroy everything. -But if the earthquake is heavy, it terrifies the people. In that way you -might escape if Lentala's plan fails. It was a great earthquake I was -hoping for." - -"The Black Face must have all the castaways?" I repeated. "How?" - -"I don't know!" he desperately cried. "Lentala doesn't know. It has been -concealed from us. But it's something horrible! A storm is coming, but -it may bring no castaways, and the king won't wait any longer. He can't -control the people." - -"What kind of man should we send out, Beelo?" - -"One who's brave and fears nothing," he promptly answered, studying me -oddly. - -"Then Rawley wouldn't do." - -"No. Mr. Vancouver." - -I had felt it coming. Of course he deserved any risk, any fate, but---- - -"You are thinking of Annabel," said Beelo. - -"Yes. She is innocent. Unless Lentala can keep him away from the king -and save him from harm, I won't----" - -"There, there, Choseph!" sweetly said the boy. "She'll manage. You'll -send Mr. Vancouver?" - -"Yes." - -"Good! That will make the king think you aren't suspicious. As soon as -he has gone with Gato, you and Christopher come here, and then we three -will go out of the valley." - -Captain Mason's heavy hand still lay as a hush on the camp when Gato, -the giant leader of the soldiers, arrived an hour later with a band of -his men. Christopher and I met him, and he informed us that he had -come for the man who was to be taken out. I despatched Christopher for -Captain Mason, whom I had informed of the decision to send Mr. Vancouver -out. The storm had been gathering with a slowness that indicated -destructive preparation. Mr. Vancouver was in his hut with Rawley -and Annabel. Rawley's haggard face peered out at intervals and sent a -straining look at me such as I had seen in the faces of the condemned -peering through the cell-grate for any messenger that might bear a -reprieve. They were not aware of our decision that Mr. Vancouver should -go. - -The president, cool and serious, came with Christopher. - -"Summon Mr. Vancouver," he said. - -The three came out. Mr. Vancouver, though pale, had a firm look, and -it went straight to Captain Mason. Rawley was ghastly. Annabel held my -attention most. Undoubtedly Mr. Vancouver had been trying to prepare her -for the contingency of his leaving, and had made poor work of it. - -Her glance first sought Captain Mason, and found a blank face with no -eyes for her. Next she looked at me, and caught something that I was -too slow in hiding. Thenceforward during the scene I knew that the ache -within me for her sake was large print to her eyes. Her bearing was an -accusation, a challenge for frankness, an appeal for protection. - -The president said: - -"Mr. Vancouver, the king has sent for one of our men. It would be my -duty to go if I could be spared. Will you go?" - -"Certainly," came the prompt answer. - -Annabel shrank, and then bravely stepped forth. Her voice lost its -quaver as she proceeded. - -"Why send my father?" she demanded. "Are there no young men here with -the courage to volunteer?" - -She eagerly scanned the crowd, not heeding her father's restraining hand -on her arm. Being a woman, she could never understand why not a single -man made a sign, so heavy was the weight of Captain Mason's hand. - -"It is a shame!" she passionately exclaimed. "I had thought there were -more manliness and gratitude in the world." She turned upon me. "Mr. -Tudor, I know _you_ will go." - -I could not bear it. "May I tell her in confidence what I am to do?" I -asked Captain Mason under my breath. - -"Not now," he answered. "Miss Vancouver," he said aloud, "Mr. Tudor -cannot go. I beg to remind you that you are interfering with the -business in hand." - -Recollection of the morning's scene, when a woman had been sent away -under guard, must have been what whitened her face with fear and then -flushed it with anger. The lion in her father crouched at Captain Mason, -but instantly remembered. - -"Daughter," he peremptorily said, "spare us further humiliation. I am -going." - -"Then, I will go with you!" she exclaimed. - -The entire colony was assembled, and all were expecting another measure -of authority; but Captain Mason stood in patient silence. - -"Impossible, child!" said Mr. Vancouver. - -"Yes, I will go!" she cried. "I have a right to go, and I will!" - -Mr. Vancouver sent Captain Mason an inquiring look, and found that the -blue eyes had hardened. He knew the meaning of that; he must at once -eliminate his daughter. - -"Child," he coaxed, enclosing her in his arms, "it is -impossible,--dangers would arise that wouldn't come if you were absent." - -"I can't bear it,--I can't bear it!" she half sobbed. She struggled to -free herself. Rawley came forward. "Don't touch me!" she cried. "Isn't -there a _man_----" - -A glance from Captain Mason sent Christopher to her side. - -"It's me, ma'am." - -Her father released her, and she turned in astonishment to Christopher. -Annabel had a sense of the ludicrous, but one of tenderness also. She -saw the angel behind the clown. Smiles went with her tears as she gave -him her hand. - -"You mustn't go," leaked his thin voice. - -"Why?" - -"They need you." His gesture swept the camp. - -She was silent while she dried her eyes. - -"Yes," she said, "but----" - -"Them there savagers ud eat you." - -"But my father------" - -"He ain't nice to eat." - -Christopher had laid a daring finger on the mystery, but his words found -all unheeding except Mr. Vancouver, who looked startled. The suggestion -was evidently new to him. - -"Very well, Christopher," Annabel said, smiling sadly, "I'll stay. -Captain Mason," falteringly, "I ask your pardon." She turned to her -father and embraced him. "Father, go. I'll pray for you." She held him -off and looked long into his face. "You'll come back, won't you?" - -"Of course. I shall see the king, and I know I can arrange everything -happily for the colony." - -Captain Mason beckoned Gato. Mr. Vancouver turned his face to the -darkness and marched away with the guard. - -When he had gone, Annabel still gazed. Rawley watched her for a look -that might permit his consoling offices, but she did not see him. Only -Christopher knew what to do. - -"It's a-wanting of you, ma'am," he said. - -She started. "What, Christopher?" - -"It's mother, too." - -"Yes, yes,--I'd forgotten." Without a glance at any of us, she went to -the ailing child. - -The colony began to stir. After a hurried conference with Captain Mason, -Christopher and I left to keep the appointment with Beelo. We were ready -for him when he came all out of breath. It made me uneasy to note that -he studiedly avoided my eyes and made no reference to the scene in camp. - -"There's not a moment to lose," he said. "Come; follow me--cautiously." -His manner betrayed a nervous haste. - -"Beelo!" I said, seeing that he was too much excited. - -He stood panting while he got himself in hand, but still kept his face -turned from me. - -"Now I'm all right," he said. - -He threaded the jungle as though every shrub and tree and turning-place -were familiar, and held a course on that side of the valley which -brought us under the Face. - -His agility taxed me. Not so Christopher: his deftness equaled Beelo's. -We were a silent trio. - -The transverse ridge was crossed, and we entered strange territory. -Beelo's eyes and ears were incessantly on watch. Now and then he would -come to an abrupt halt and hold his breath, but nothing appeared. -We kept to the deepest shadows, which were further blackened by the -steadily thickening darkness of the sky. I feared a downpour. - -Without mishap we finally reached the lower end of the valley. I had -been trying to see the opening through which the stream must run, but -even when we halted near the cliff, not a break appeared. - -Beelo dropped to the ground. "We'll rest," said he. - -I found the adventure exciting, but was unprepared for its effect -on Christopher. His usually dull eyes had intelligent vision; his -slouchiness was gone. - -After a few moments' rest Beelo rose, and led us to the stream. It was -deep and slow here, and crept through a dense overhanging growth. We -pushed through the tangle, and soon came to a little clearing near the -bank, but screened from it. The bamboo raft which he and Christopher had -made lay there. - -We launched it. Christopher produced a pole from another hiding-place, -boarded the raft, and knelt on the forward end. Beelo and I followed. - -"Christopher," the lad inquired, "can you see in the dark?" - -"Yes," and Christopher shoved off. - -The vegetation grew denser as we slipped along, and its shadows combined -with the darkness of the day to plunge us into night. Presently I -realized that we must have traversed more than the distance between the -launching-place and the wall. - -"Where are we, Beelo?" I asked, but the sound of my voice informed me -before the boy's answer: - -"Under the mountain. We are going through." - -To describe my sensations would be impertinent. Beelo's reticence was -more than silence. The only sound was the swish of Christopher's pole as -it dipped and scraped while we drifted. Beelo, sitting a little to the -rear and at one side of me, crept nearer. - -"Talk," he begged, edging still closer, till our arms touched. - -"Very well, lad. Shall I tell you a story?" - -We must have been on the floor of a lofty cavern, for my words came -back. - -"Hush!" he whispered. - -His hand was groping for mine. Perfect blackness encompassed us. I -took his hand. A slight tremor thrilled it, and I put an arm about his -shoulders, drew him close, and pressed his head down in the hollow of my -neck. There was none of his refractory wildness now. Poor lad! For all -the pluck that he had shown in the past, the silence and the darkness of -this grew-some passage had unmanned him. It was good to hear the comfort -in his sigh, the fading of the tremor, and the firm grasp of his hand. - -Evidently Beelo had never made this trip before, but I wondered that at -least its upper end had been left unguarded and why it was not a highway -for the natives. In a whisper I asked him. - -"It is guarded," he answered; "but when a storm or an earthquake comes, -the men are afraid that what is in here will come out; and, besides, -they think a storm is a better guard than they. But they weren't far -away. I knew how to avoid them." - -"Yes, but----" - -"Down!" came sharply from Christopher simultaneously with a dull blow. - -I flattened Beelo and myself. - -"Up," said Christopher. - -Had his face or head encountered a low-hanging rock? Yet he had thought -of us. - -"Are you hurt?" I asked. - -"No, sir." - -"Did your head strike?" - -"Arm, sir." - -Perhaps an inscrutable power had given him the sense to raise his arm -and guard his head at the moment of peril. I finished my question to -Beelo: - -"What is in here the natives fear?" - -"The voices that send your words back." - -"Surely they are familiar with the echo in the mountains." - -"Not this kind, Choseph." He had never called me that so easily. I -hugged him closer, and he nestled like a kitten. - -It was indeed a startling echo. At times even our whispers seemed to -multiply and flock on wings, and come rustling back. - -"There's something still worse," added Beelo. - -"What is it?" - -"I don't know. They would never tell me." - -...I wondered whether he had felt the sudden leap of my heart. He must, -for he snuggled closer, withdrew his hand from mine, caressed my cheek, -and whispered: - -"We'll be brave." - -"Yes, lad, but if we knew only a little we should be the better -prepared." - -He was silent. - -"You know nothing about it?" I insisted. - -"Nothing at all." - -"But natives have gone through safely, else they wouldn't know." - -"Some did, a long time ago. That was the last." - -"Some did? Not all that started?" - -"Not all. The others went mad. Don't talk about it, dear Choseph." - -Assuredly Beelo had been driven to a desperate extremity to choose -this way of escape from the valley. It showed how closely the ordinary -outlets were guarded. - - - - -CHAPTER XII.--Dramatic Discoveries. - -_Plunged Into Mysterious Terrors. Christopher's Obscure Powers at Work. -A Struggle for Our Lives. Stout Hearts Fail. A Dear One Lost._ - - -THE passage was crooked. The darkness was unqualified, and so dense -that it seemed resistant and hard to breathe. It was the sort of -blackness that penetrates to the heart and quenches the light there. -Matches had long ago disappeared from the colony, and I had no means -of making a light. Nor had Beelo provided against the blackness. All -time-reckoning had been lost, but our rate was slow, and I knew that the -passage must be long. - -Thus far the odors had been of the sun-sweetened water crossed with -those of the underground dank, and were pleasant. But presently a faint -pungency invaded the cold air. I knew by the change in Beelo's breathing -that his quick sense had discovered it. It suggested things over -which my memory halted. Christopher gave no sign. With unflagging -watchfulness, aided by a perception far keener than mine, he kept the -raft free in the stream, except for occasional bumps. - -"Do you smell it, Christopher?" I asked. - -"Yes, sir." - -"What is it?" - -"Sir?" - -"What is it?" - -There was an interval before his answer, "Fire, sir." Beelo cowered in -my embrace. Since Christopher had mentioned it, I knew it was fire; -I cannot say how I knew, because the odor was unlike that from any -combustion I had ever known. - -"Do you know what is burning?" I asked. - -"Me, sir?" - -"Yes." - -This silence was longer than the other; Christopher must have listened -far. - -"The world, sir." - -Beelo shook with a silent chuckle, and squeezed my hand; but I knew that -Christopher's words had a meaning. - -"The world?" I quietly repeated. - -"Yes, sir. I hear it." - -Beelo and I straightened up and set our ears on a strain. - -"I hear nothing," I said. - -"I hear it, very faint," Beelo breathlessly returned. - -It made no difference with the steadiness of Christopher's work. The -odor gradually grew more pronounced, and then I recalled an iron smelter -that I had seen in boyhood. Presently I too heard a distant roar as of -a furnace that ground while it burned. Beelo crept close under my -arm again. I could feel his quick heart-beats and shortened breathing -against my side. - -Creeping through these increasing sensations came the deep note of -falling water. Why ask Beelo whether he had ever heard that our stream -took a subterranean plunge? Christopher kept coolly at his task. The -sharp striking and scraping of his tireless pole had long ago informed -me that rock made our channel and shores, which were uneven and -dangerous. Now and then the raft would make a sudden swing to avoid -underwater rocks that Christopher's soundings had discovered. At other -times it would come to a lurching halt until the man carrying our lives -in his hand had made sure of the way. - -"What do you think of that water falling, Christopher?" I asked. - -He waited a long time, and his slow answer chilled me: - -"I don't know, sir." - -"You'll go slow when we come nearer?" - -"Yes, sir." - -Beelo gave me a hand-pressure intended to silence my foolish tongue. - -With a growing intensity in the odor, in the furnace roar, and in the -rumbling of the waterfall, came stealing something new and surpassingly -uncanny. It was a very dim glow, with no visible source, and without -the power to make anything seen but itself. Apparently it was but the -darkness in a more oppressive phase. In vain did I strain my eyes to see -Christopher, Beelo, the raft, the water,--anything that light could make -visible; but the glow was as impenetrable as the darkness. - -Beelo was going to pieces under the weight of this encompassing awe. -I knew that his weakness was born of his yielding to an extraneous -reliance--Christopher and me. He put his lips to my ear and whispered: - -"I'm afraid." - -"Steady, lad. You are our guide; you are responsible for us." - -"Yes, I know." He made a pathetic effort to regain himself. "This -light--don't you _feel_ it, Choseph?" - -"I do, dear lad, but my name isn't Choseph." - -"Yoseph!" he triumphantly said. - -"Joseph," I insisted. - -"Mr. Tudor!" In a whirlwind he threw both arms round my neck, and -softly laughed. The old Beelo was on guard again, except that with his -recovered courage he was uncommonly gentle and affectionate. I wondered -if I should ever reach the end of the boy's phases. - -From some indeterminate direction came the muffled sound of an -explosion. - -"Hold tight!" cried Christopher, violently lurching the raft round and -jamming it sharply against high jutting rocks on the bank. "Down!" he -added. - -A mighty rush as of many winds came tearing up the passage far ahead. -I threw Beelo face down, and flattened my body. Then came the blow, -and hurled Christopher backward upon us. In a moment he had recovered -himself. The impact must have strained Beelo's ribs, but he lay still. - -It was a combination of atmospheric concussion and hot gases, -principally steam, that had struck us. I raised my head, gasping for -breath. Beelo was inert. I lifted him. One arm feebly groped for my -neck, and clung there. - -"We are safe!" I cheerily said. "Where is my brave little brother?" - -He only held me the closer. Indeed, speech was difficult, since the air -was packed with smothering vapors. The desire to breathe was checked by -an instinctive fear to inhale. - -Christopher cautiously pushed out, and again we drifted free, The pole -dipped and clicked and scraped. - -But a change had come. The furnace roar had ceased; the waterfall grew -louder. Most striking of all was the unearthly luminosity of the steam -filling the tunnel. That vapor, rapidly chilling in the cold of the -passage, increased in opaqueness, but glowed the more. Before long the -light became radiant and faintly illuminating, and the air sweetened. -I had known by Beelo's breath on my cheek that his face was upturned to -mine, and near. Thus it was that after long peering I found the light in -his eyes. My arms were enclosing him. - -"I see my lad!" I said in gladness. - -A queer little movement of withdrawal began. I tried to hold him, but -found no yielding. Gradually he slipped out of my clasp, and sat alone. - -Christopher slowly took body in the haze, a ghostly Charon on the -Styx. The color of the glow grew from white to rose, with an occasional -effulgence of bluish purple. The surface of the earth knew no such tints -in fire; these were royally plutonic. The black rocks overhead and on -either hand assumed a vague, grim definition, and to my keyed fancy -displayed grotesque suggestions. Blank spaces a shade darker than the -grimacing, minatory rocks fell away; these I supposed to be cavernous -reaches out of the passage, for from them came echoed multiples of the -pole-sounds. - -The temperature began to rise as the waterfall grew louder, the light -more revealing, the haze weaker. We swung round a wide curve, and all at -once a terrifying vision sprang forth in a blood-red light. Our stream -opened into a small lake, which was violently churned by a cataract of -crimson water brilliantly illuminated and plunging out of the overhead -darkness into it. The roar was deafening. - -Beelo, scrambling in terror to his feet, his eyes blazing with the red -madness that packed the cavern, required a strong hand to subdue him. -He struggled in my grasp, pointed frantically backward with implorings -that we return, and fought my restraint with sheer animal desperation. -Christopher's conduct, though showing extraordinary exhilaration, -betrayed no fear, but only a grimmer hold on our situation. With a -rearward glance and the discovery that I was holding Beelo securely, he -stood up, a gigantic red figure, and with all his might shot the raft -forward into the maelstrom. The frail thing plunged in the surge, but -Christopher's eye and arm were sure. The suck of the water, curving -downward where the cataract struck the pool, was cunningly avoided as -he circled the rim of the lakelet, having as able work to do in avoiding -the dripping rocks there as in keeping out of the breakers. - -I thanked God there was light, formidable though it was; it helped me in -my control of Beelo, whose struggles were becoming weaker, and enabled -me to find a good grip on the raft, for there was danger of slipping -off. Through all the wild lurching Christopher kept a sailor's feet; -and, although his back was toward me, I saw by his quick movements that -all his shrewd forces were in the fight. - -Whence came the light? It appeared to be in the cataract itself, a -living flame in the heart of its greatest enemy. The water was joyously, -terribly alive. - -The raft described an arc of the pool, slipped out of the boiling churn, -and, before Christopher was aware, caught an eddy and went swinging and -lurching in behind the cataract. The man so strong in both soul and body -threw up his hands in the surrender of terror, for a thing more awful -than the red light and the waterfall confronted us. He dropped the pole. -Its middle struck the edge of the raft, and our one weapon of defense -rebounded into the water. Beelo saw the catastrophe. He clutched me -frantically about the neck, nearly strangling me before I broke his -hold. - -[Illustration: 0133] - -Christopher looked about for the pole, and saw it bobbing on end as it -struggled against submergence in the down-thrust behind the fall. It -was twenty fatal feet away. The ferocity of elemental self-preservation -seized on the man and transformed him. This was not the attitude of -patient, gentle Christopher, the humble, serving Christopher, but that -of a bayed animal. My hands were tied by the necessity of Beelo's care. - -The spectacle that had unmanned Christopher was in a profound recess -reaching indeterminately out of the cavern and behind the waterfall. It -had not been visible until we rounded the fall and went scurrying behind -it in the eddy. Apparently far back,--I cannot guess how far,--ran a -broad, high, fantastically irregular tunnel ending in a pit of boiling -lava, at an unknown depth below the level of the tunnel, which itself -was slightly above the surface of the pool. Deep rumblings issued from -it, as from a heavy ebullition, punctured with smothered detonations. -Rising from it were thin, cloud-like masses of vapor, like the -pale mauve haze of distant mountains. In its rolling it thickened -concealingly here and opened revealingly there, with constantly shifting -effects. - -The dominant color was a deep, transparent crimson of a tint such as -may be seen in the cooling iron of a foundry or in the great crater of -Kilauea; but following the detonations came leaping flames of bluish -purple. It was the red shining through the water that had made the -cataract a fall of liquid crimson when seen from the front. - -This, then, was the funnel of a volcano, with a lateral vent. Was it one -of Pluto's cooling forges? Was its present activity transient? Was this -the beginning of a seismic convulsion that might blow the valley rampart -into the sea? - -I cannot say when those questions arose. The urgency of an immediate -threat demanded all attention. Beelo was in an ecstasy of terror, and -Christopher was desperately casting about with all his reassembled wits. -In the tumult of noises our voices were useless. We had been flung out -of the larger eddy into a smaller one swirling between the back of the -fall and the tunnel-mouth. It had a swifter and more dizzying whirl. -Soon it seemed that we were still, except for the ceaseless rolling of -our craft, and that the roaring fall and the grumbling, blazing tunnel -were swinging round us. With the rest passed the bobbing pole, a live, -insane thing, nodding this way and that, approaching the downpour -gingerly, diving under a sharp water-blow, and leaping up with malicious -sprightliness a few feet back. At any moment it might be caught sidewise -and crushed. - -There was another danger. The centrifugal force of our swing in the eddy -was carrying us out to the periphery of the swirl. On one side were -the rocks at the mouth of the tunnel; opposite was the waterfall, the -slightest blow from which (since it fell from a height of at least a -hundred feet) would mean the end. Our swinging was taking us nearer to -both those dangers. - -Something roused within, overcoming my pity for Beelo. I shook him and -slapped his cheek. Astonishment and anger blazed in his eyes, and then -with a mighty indignation he crawled away and sat glaring at me. At -another time the comical picture would have amused me, for the boy -behaved just as a proud kitten under similar treatment. Having secured -the desired result with Beelo, I worked to the edge of the raft, and -prepared to make a leap for the pole. I was waiting till the raft should -swing round and bring me nearer. Before that happened, two soft arms -were flung round me from behind, a cheek pressed mine, and I was borne -down backward. Two small, firm hands held my wrists down. For the moment -I was helpless. - -Of course, Christopher knew that our nearer approach to danger brought -us closer to hope, which lay in the pole. He was biding the moment, -and it came. He crouched on the raft, and a long arm shot out. Beelo's -nerves were quivering till Christopher rose; then they stilled, and he -released me. - -Christopher had learned from experience, and it was a surer hand now -that gripped the pole and sent the raft spinning out of the eddy. To -keep it somewhat trimmed against Christopher's movements had been a -small part of my task hitherto, so thoughtful of everything had he -been; but now that he saw Beelo and me better used to the situation, he -quietly gave us something of that to do, thus securing more freedom of -movement. - -He found the egress of the stream from the pool, and pushed out. Slowly -we crept through the gloomy, misty light, which paled as we went. -Christopher must have felt a dread that oppressed me--the danger of -recurrent explosions--for he worked with less extreme caution than -before, and our progress was better. After a time the light was too dim -for me to see Beelo sitting in his sullen pout; and when darkness again -fell, he crept up beside me and stole out a hand for mine. The noises -had nearly ceased, and Beelo no longer feared the weird echoes. - -"I'm glad it's past," he sighed, nestling against me. "Aren't you, -Choseph?" - -"Joseph." - -He hugged my arm and softly laughed. - -"Yes, I'm glad," I answered. - -It seemed many hours since we had entered the passage, and I hoped we -should emerge in the morning of the day following that of our start. - -New conditions began to arise. Above the cataract the stream had -been slow, with few approaches to rapids. Those had been the worst -danger-points. Now we discovered that the current was swifter and -the rapids more numerous and turbulent. The celerity of Christopher's -movements increased. He no longer tried to spare us the water dripping -from his pole as he repeatedly shifted it and groped for bearings. -This made me more apprehensive. I wondered whether, even with better -facilities, we could return to the valley through this passage, and how -the two hundred and fifty colonists could manage to come safely through. - -Presently I felt in the water a turgidity where the current was slow, -and heard a hoarse, growling rumble quite different from the sounds that -we had left behind. Beelo tightened his clutch and breathlessly said: - -"It has come!" - -"What has, lad?" - -"Hush!" - -Except for an unusual slapping of the water against the rocks, the -commotion had passed. I wondered if the storm had broken in the valley -and the torrent was coming; but this did not look like it. - -"It has gone, Beelo. What was it?" - -"No, it hasn't. Hold tight. Sit hard, Christopher!" - -"Beelo," I impatiently demanded, "you must tell me what----" - -The speech was stopped by a groaning crunch that tossed the stream, -splashed the water high on the rocks, and filled the passage with a -sound like that of crushing glass. Beelo was again in terror. - -"Be quiet, lad. There's nothing-----" - -"Don't talk!" he desperately commanded. "The third one will come. That's -the worst. Wait!" - -The seconds dragged through an awful silence. Beelo's breath struggled -spasmodically through the repression under which he tried to hold it. - -The third shock came, and then, though I had never felt one before, I -knew what it was. The whole world seemed to heave and writhe and jolt -and grind, all with a fearful noise. The earthquake, grim brother of -the boiling cauldron we had left, had us in its jaws, and its power was -manifest in the ease with which it crushed and ground the rocks about -us. Fragments of these began to splash in the water and rattle on the -raft. Just in front, a huge block plunged into the stream and dashed us -with water. - -Beelo flung himself upon me; I again bent over him to shield him. - -Another heavy stone struck the raft in the narrow space between -Christopher and us, and tore through it into the water, sending up a -geyser through the hole. - -A stiffening wave of terror overswept Beelo. He sprang to his knees and -tightly embraced my neck in both arms. - -"We are going to die!" he feebly cried, and pressed his lips to mine, -sinking inert into my arms. My fingers anxiously sought his pulse. It -was fluttering. - -"Christopher!" I called in alarm,--not realizing that the earthquake -had passed and that a dim light made visible the rocks in a turn -ahead,--"Christopher! Something has happened to Beelo!" - -"Yes, sir," came with the steady old calm. - -"Stop! We must do something for him." - -"We are going out, sir." - -We swung the curve, and the blessed daylight smiled ahead. The raft slid -out of the passage in placid water, which here, as at the other end, was -deeply embowered. The glorious day, though overcast, was brilliant to -our eyes as it sifted through and rested sweetly on the water. As Beelo -was unconscious, Christopher observed extraordinary care in proceeding, -and as soon as possible secured the raft in the sheltered reach. - -I was looking down into Beelo's face. His head had fallen back, and -although his eyes were closed, his lips were open. It came over me with -a pang that a richness and a maturity which I had not before noticed in -his face, rested there now. - -"How long has it taken us to come through?" I asked Christopher. - -"'Mos' four hours, sir." - -I was surprised. It had seemed much longer. - -He came to lift Beelo out, but I myself bore him ashore and laid him on -the ground, and knelt over him. Christopher was standing near, studying -him, but showing no anxiety. - -"It is only fainting, isn't it, Christopher?" I asked. - -"That's all, sir." - -To give him air, I began to open his blouse. - -"I wouldn't, sir," interposed Christopher. - -"Why?" I asked, looking up in surprise. - -He only regarded me in silence. At first I thought that Christopher's -singular penetration had discovered that Beelo was lighter of color than -a full-blooded native and was delicately warning me not to invade the -carefully guarded secret. I recalled the story that I had told Beelo, -and my suspicions as to the purity of his native blood. And what harm -could come if I did learn? - -Then the truth came upon me with the overwhelming force of long -cumulation. His conduct in the tunnel, his sweetness and gentleness, -the strange conclusion of the scene with Annabel when they had met,--a -thousand memories of things that had passed unheeded in the stress -of dangers,--came as a blinding light. I do not know when Christopher -learned the truth, but in his chivalry he would have seen me go blind to -the grave without a word from him in betrayal of Beelo's secret. - -The shock stunned me, and my head was bowed in reverence. When I again -looked into the patient face, now having for me so sweet and touching a -pathos, the deep-blue eyes were looking up into mine; then they turned -to Christopher, and all about. The old mischievous, bantering smile -parted the perfect lips. The eyes again sought mine. - -"Choseph! It's fine to be dead!" But the voice held a different music -from that of the lad whom I had loved and who was now gone forever. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII.--Preparation for the Crisis. - -_In the Enemy's Land. The Weird Light on the Valley Wall. Mr. Vancouver. -A Visit with Lentala. She Tells a Secret Which I Already Know._ - - -I Would respect Beelo's wish that she appear as a boy, and must keep -hammering into my mind the words, Boy, Lad, Dear Little Brother. I -must not for a moment think of her otherwise. "Boy, Lad, Dear Little -Brother." - -"What are you dreaming, Choseph, and what are those words your lips are -saying?" It was Beelo's cheery voice. - -He was sitting up; I was beside him looking down at the gliding water. I -woke to the familiar raillery, and turned with a smile. - -"Dear lad!" I joyfully responded. - -"You had forgotten me," he ruefully said. "And you, old Christopher! -Don't you see I'm dying of thirst?" - -Christopher plucked two large leaves, fashioned them into a cup, and -brought the water, which Beelo eagerly drank. He held out his hand, and -I helped him up. He tried his legs. - -"That's better," he said. - -The perfect grace of movement, the exquisite feminine figure so artfully -concealed,---- - -"Boy, Lad, Dear Little Brother." - -"Mooning again, and talking to yourself!" cried Beelo. - -"It was a rough trip through the passage, boy. I'm a little shaken." - -"That's past. Shake the other way." He was pirouetting round a tree. - -"But how are we going back, lad?" - -"This way," he carelessly answered, making wing-motions with his arms. - -"There was an earthquake, Beelo." - -He stopped short, and his eyes lighted deep. - -"Yes!" he softly but impressively exclaimed. - -The old caution settled in his face; he peered and listened warily, and -then came a look of assured repose. - -"That is good," he said,--"if--" a cloud drifted over his face--"if they -felt it on the surface." - -"They did," interposed Christopher. - -"How do you know?" Beelo sharply demanded. - -Christopher pointed to a large rock near us, to the path that it had -freshly torn through the brush, and to a steep slope from which it had -been dislodged. - -"Good for Christopher!" said Beelo. He studied the sky, and dejectedly -added, "But the storm is coming!" After a little reflection he remarked, -as if to himself, "I don't know whether that should change our plans or -not." He seated himself to think it out, and began arranging twigs -on the ground. "No Senatras will be within miles of the passage," he -ruminated. "They fear it, for the earthquake is born here, and they have -run away. So, we can make better time. Mr. Vancouver is safe today; we -won't go _there_." - -"Where, dear little brother?" - -Pain crossed his face. "To the clearing opposite the Face. If only -another earthquake would come, or this had come sooner!" - -"Is one usually followed by another?" - -"Often. Sometimes not. Come! The sun will be setting before long, and we -have miles to go." - -We hid the battered raft and struck out. Our way led parallel to the -stream, which tore foaming down a gorge of steeply sloping sides. It -slipped into a pleasant valley, richly verdured. There we left it and -began the ascent of a mountain on the west. Dusk was coming on. Beelo -fearlessly pursued the trails in the darkening hours. - -Occasionally we paused to rest. The valley which we had crossed lay a -black-green sea below. Behind us the eastern sky was cut straight across -by the level summit of our valley wall. Beelo was closely studying it. - -"You see no sign of fire over there, do you?" he asked, pointing toward -the clearing opposite the Face. - -There was none, and Beelo was gratified. Our attention was diverted from -that spot by a faint purplish flash, which slipped along the crest above -the river passage, and was quickly gone. Beelo stood tense and still, -and whispered: - -"Did you see _that?_" - -"Yes." - -We waited for its reappearance, but none came. Beelo said no more. The -light had come from the subterranean lava-pot. - -Beyond the wall was the blackest part of the sky. Under the horizon -in that direction lightning was at play, as we judged from faint -illuminations in the distant heavens, and the rumble of far thunder. - -Night had nearly fallen when we reached the summit. The descent -was rapid on the other side, for Beelo went with the sureness of -familiarity. At last we stopped at an abandoned hut, hidden in the deep -forest. Beelo paused on the door-step. - -"See," he said, pointing to a glow a mile or less away, down the valley. -"That is the main settlement of the Senatras. The king's palace, where -Lentala and I live, is there. We will visit it tonight,--if Lentala -agrees. You will rest here awhile and have something to eat. After the -visit to the palace you will sleep here." - -He showed us within, closed the door, blew a flame from smothered embers -on the hearth, and lighted a nut-oil lamp. He had been very sober and -quiet all the way, but now his eyes began to dance. - -"This is your mansion!" he exclaimed. - -The place had been made clean and sweet, good beds of leaves were on the -earth floor, and fresh water stood in calabashes. Beelo dragged forward -a copper vessel, and took from it a generous food supply. - -"Isn't she pretty good--for a girl?" he casually asked. - -"Who?" - -"Lentala. She did these things." - -Ever since the scene at the end of the passage, sadness had sat upon me, -and I was in no mood to enjoy Beelo's pleasantries,--this, too, while -I was deeply touched by the labor and gentle thoughtfulness with which -everything had been done for our comfort. Still, something precious was -gone from my life; my heart hungered for the lad. But he was here! In a -swirl of perversity I seized Beelo's hands, and held him before me. - -"Dear lad," I said, "I am walking in the dark. Believe me, little -brother, I am grateful--more grateful than any words could say--for the -skill and the kindness that we have seen from you. But my heart is sore, -and you are laughing at me." - -Something between suspicion and embarrassment had been rapidly growing -in Beelo's face. Of a sudden he closed my mouth with his hand and made a -brave rally of Beelo's old flippancies. - -"Christopher," he said, "did you ever see such a goose? Such an _old_ -goose?" - -I gently removed his hand. - -"I am serious, boy." - -"Hush!" commanded Beelo in a whisper. - -His hunt down into me was ruthless, but the hurt there helped me to -steady my gaze. "When I fainted----" he began, and stopped, having -found my face expressionless. He turned to Christopher, who, giving no -attention to us, was setting out the supper on a mat. Beelo's sharp eyes -came back to me. - -"Dear little brother,----" - -"No, no! Not a word!" he broke in. "I haven't time, and you are hungry. -Come, Choseph!" - -He turned me to the supper and forced me to sit on the ground opposite -Christopher. It was pleasant to be man-handled by Beelo. His abuse of -me was always smoothed by affection. I had no appetite, but who could -resist Beelo? He played that I was an invalid and unable to help myself. -He patted my cheek, put food into my mouth, chattered nonsense as though -I were a baby, and petted me with outrageous condescension. There was -nothing to do but melt under his dear absurdities; and when he found -me re-established, he kissed me on the forehead and dashed out, calling -that he would be back before long. - -When he returned he was brilliantly alive. There seemed no end to his -vitality. - -"It's glorious!" he cried, seizing Christopher and sending his bulk in -a twirl across the hut. "It's splendid!" he went on, smashing my dignity -with boy's play. "It's just----" But his breath was gone, and he tumbled -in a panting heap on the ground. - -"What news, Beelo?" I inquired. - -He sat up, but as yet had meager breath for speech. - -"Mr. Vancouver--is safe. Doesn't look very--happy. Hasn't seen--the -king. Oh, no! Lentala,--who is an Angel--and Sweet--and Kind--and -Beautiful,--is just dying--to see you. And----" - -"Rest a minute," I interrupted. - -He flung a little pout at me, and then archly demanded, "Aren't you -good-natured yet, Choseph?" - -I shook my head. - -"You will be when you see Lentala," he said with mock melancholy. "Don't -you like girls?" he suddenly fired at me. - -"Y--es," I stammered consciously. - -"You like Annabel!" with a spitfire touch on his tongue. - -"I once liked, very much, a dear lad named Beelo more than any girl." - -"_Once_ liked Beelo!" His shining eyes were lances. - -"I like him just as much yet--when he is Beelo." - -I knew by his start that the thin ice on which I walked was cracking. - -"And what is he when he isn't Beelo?" - -"A little devil." - -He laughed. "You aren't _quite_ dead," he said, and a briskness sprang -into his manner. "We must go. Most of the Senatras have already gone to -sleep. Come." - -He rapidly led us into the valley, meanwhile instructing us how to -respond if greeted. The natives were not garrulous nor inquisitive, and -we passed unnoticed, until the outskirts of the settlement were reached. -There, in a dimly lighted hut, Mr. Vancouver was resting under guard, -Beelo informed us. A barely visible figure challenged Beelo. The prompt -response made the shape sink from view. - -"We haven't time to see Mr. Vancouver now," said the lad to us. - -A turn in a lane lined with huts brought us into a beautiful highway, -broad and white, and picketed with odorous trees which arched overhead. -The darkness would have been profound but for a diffused light which -glowed ahead upon something white. We went rapidly toward it, and found -it to be a high stone wall; the light was from two lamps on posts where -the highway swung to the left and ran at the foot of the wall. - -Instead of following the main road Beelo turned into a narrow way to the -right. The overhead growth was so dense that the light from the lamps -was soon lost, but Beelo knew the way. At last he stopped, and slipped -a key into a lock. The heavy wooden door, plated and strapped with iron, -suggested a postern in an archaic fortress. He led us within and secured -the door. - -The nearer approach of the storm brought lightning, which increased -Beelo's caution while revealing glimpses of our environment. In the -region behind the wall the verdure was less dense and more orderly -than in the park through which we had come. The lightning made the open -spaces embarrassing to our guide, who hurried us across them to the -shadows. Finely kept paths wound and intersected, but Beelo knew shorter -routes. A rising wind assisted the stealth of our progress. - -He brought us under the shadow of a low arcade, open on one side, and -closed on the other with a long stone house. The pillars were massed -in vines. Here the darkness was intense. The stone floor gave no sound -under our tread. - -Beelo stopped us, advanced a few paces, and rapped on a door. It was -cautiously opened, but we could not see within as Beelo entered. A very -faint light barely made him visible. - -"Lentala!" he whispered, "they are here." - -A voice fuller and mellower than Beelo's yet much like his, answered, -"Yes? I had given you up, and was undressing for bed." - -"You'll dress?" Beelo spoke nervously. - -"Yes. Tell them to wait a little while. They are safe out there. Beelo, -the king is furious because you ran away tonight. He is waiting for you. -Go at once. It is something about the man from the colony." I resented -her domineering manner toward Beelo. - -"Very well. I'll be back as soon as I can," he answered sweetly. - -Coming back to us, he began to explain, but I told him we had heard. A -reassuring hand was given to each of us, and he was hurrying across the -garden fronting the arcade. He halted and came back. - -"Don't stay with Lentala longer than ten minutes," he earnestly said. -"The king may detain me. If I don't come, can you find your way back?" - -I assured him that we could, and that even should he come, we would not -let him conduct: us to the hut. - -He gave my hand a grateful little squeeze as he slipped the gate-key -into it, and darted away, saying: - -"Wait at Lentala's door till she opens it." - -Presently she bade us enter. Instead of her barbarous but highly -becoming dress at the feast, with neat jacket and short skirt blazing -with gold embroidery, she now wore a plain, loose garment. It was partly -redeemed by a low cut in the neck, a splendid girdle consisting of a -heavy and elaborately linked chain of gold, and a necklace of wonderful -diamonds. - -I could not have explained why this dazzling woman, who had filled -so wide a space in my fancy, now looked a negligible quantity, an -intrusion. There was little of the sparkle that I had expected. The -childlike coquetries, the careless abandon, the subtleties that -had flitted so unconsciously through the conduct of the Lentala I -remembered,--these and a thousand other graces were absent from the -sedater young woman smiling upon us and composedly seating us. - -She had greeted us with a warning finger on her lips. - -"My servants," she explained in a low, rich voice, "are all in bed and -asleep. But they are not far away, and we must be careful." There was a -curious reminder of Annabel's preciseness in this new Lentala. - -She must have felt my discomfort, for she let some of her consciousness -slip away, and a dash of her native wildness gradually returned. - -"Beelo has told me everything," she said; "I'll not trouble you with -questions. And we are not to discuss any plans tonight." - -The beauty and richness of the room came forth, faint in the light of -suspended lamps, which, clouded in thin fabrics, cast no shadows and -softened all contours. A rich massing of hammered gold and silver, of -exquisite bronzes and ivories, of hangings and rugs, was softened to -grace by their perfect arrangement, and over that in turn was a fine -breath of daintiness. My astonishment grew as the significance of it -came over me. Did this girl, all seeming innocence, gentleness, and -kindness, _feel_ none of the crime and blood with which these treasures -were drenched? Yet only the sweetest of spirits could have cast upon -this charnel-house loot the cleansing that held its grisly suggestion -back. - -She had been moving about and gently chatting, and I had made empty -responses. At last I discovered that she was growing nervous. A heavy -crash of thunder brought out the cause. She looked anxious, and said: -"The storm is near. You must go before it breaks. Beela"--I noted her -odd pronunciation of the final syllable--"said that if he didn't return -in ten minutes you must go without him, but I can't think of that. He -has been gone much longer." - -I tried to assure her that we could go alone, but still she was uneasy. -Christopher and I rose. She came and laid a hand on my arm. - -"Wait a little while." She hesitated over the next words. "Do you like -Beela--Beelo?" - -"Very much," I answered dully. - -A liquid softness entered her beautiful eyes, and with it a sparkle of -the old Lentala--and of Beelo too. - -"I am going to tell you a secret," she went on. "You will keep it?--and -you, Christopher? And you'll not let Beelo know?" - -We pledged ourselves. She removed her hand, looked down, and while -busying herself with a readjustment of her girdle, said, very low: - -"Beelo isn't a boy." - -Her fingers stopped in her acute tension. I stood silent. With an effort -she raised her eyes to mine, and hers betrayed a keen suspense. - -"Beelo is a girl," she added, as though I had not heard. "Her name is -Beela." She found my look coolly meeting hers. - -"You liked Beelo the boy," she groped on; "don't you like Beela the -girl?" - -"I--I'm not acquainted with her," I fumbled. - -For a moment the Lentala of the feast returned in a look of mischievous -amusement, followed by one of pretended sorrow. I was enjoying the fine -play in her face.. - -"But don't you see," she asked, "that in knowing and liking the boy, you -knew and liked the girl?" - -It would have been impossible for me to make her understand that I was -not nimble in violent readjustments; so I held my peace. - -"She was Beela the girl all the time," Lentala insisted. "It couldn't -have been anything but the girl in her that you cared for." She did not -know in the least that she was talking to the wind. - -"Of course," agreed I, very uncomfortable. - -My tone made her turn impatiently away. With much spirit she went on as -with ease and softness she paced the floor: - -"After all she has done, too! I don't see------" - -"Lentala!" I interrupted; "don't misunderstand. I do like----" - -"No, you don't!" Her voice was growing unsteady. "My poor little Beela! -I _know_ she's a madcap, but she is good, she is kind. She _had_ to be a -boy. I _made_ her be one. She couldn't have done what she did----" - -"Lentala, please----" - -"-----unless she _was_ a boy. And now she is shamed and humiliated! -Don't let my sweet sister ever know that. It would break her heart. Poor -little Beela!" - -"This is all wrong. I----" - -"Even for _my_ sake you might be generous. It is----" - -Three strides brought me to her, and I was unconscious of the power in -my angry grip on her wrist, but her tongue went silent. She raised her -eyes under the compulsion of mine. - -"That is enough," I said. - -There was a moment's matching of our forces. A ripple of mischievous -and innocent surprise animated her, and she laughed with the glee of a -gentle child. She was very much like her sister then. - -A deepening thunder-crash came. - -"You must go--now! I'm going with you. I won't let you----" - -"You shall not go," I firmly said. - -"I _must_. I _want_ to. I'll get a----" - -"No, Lentala. Good-night." - -As I was turning away, I saw the second time in her face the look of -one whose road has stopped at a wall. When I smiled and bowed to her as -Christopher and I were passing out, she was standing where I left her, -looking blankly at me. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV.---A Glimpse Into the Abyss. - -_The Fate Awaiting Mr. Vancouver. We Play a Trick on the Natives. My -Nerves Give Way. A Ghastly Hint from Christopher. A Perilous Place._ - - -THE drenching, thunder-ridden storm was so favoring that I determined -to investigate Mr. Vancouver's circumstances, and, if possible, -ascertain the plans focusing in him; for since the discovery of Beela's -sex, her horror and timidity concerning those intentions were explained. -I must now take the lead, since the work was not fitted to a woman. - -No guards were outside Mr. Vancouver's hut when we arrived, and the -wetting of the ground silenced our footfalls. My impulse was to enter, -and cautiously ascertain the truth; but I realized that the risk was -great. In creeping round the hut we overheard two native men talking -near the rear wall. - -"Hush!" continued one of the voices. "He is groaning again, and may -wake." - -In a little while the other remarked, "He is asleep. What were you -telling me?" - -"The king is very uneasy. The people all know that the white man is -here." - -"Is there dry wood?" - -"Yes. It is stored in a thatch hut on the east side of the clearing. The -people are clamoring for the white man to be taken to the stone." - -"That can't be done while the storm rages." - -"No; but the first hurricane never lasts long. The king has promised -Gato that the white man shall be sent to the fire as soon as this storm -passes. That may be tomorrow." - -"Does the white man suspect?" - -"Undoubtedly. He frets and groans." - -"What are these stories about the Black Face?" - -"The scouts sent by Gato say that it looks more ferocious than ever." - -"Does the king realize that the people will rise unless he consents to -the offering?" - -"I don't know. He is silent and deeply troubled. Danger stops any -direction that he can take. But Gato is ready." - -A horror that I felt rather than understood came over me, and, fearing -that I should betray our presence by some rash act, I was creeping away, -when I discovered that Christopher, moving similarly, had started before -me. Every tree-branch was a tempting club with which to break a savage -head and free the prisoner. - -Instead of returning to our hut, we went to the summit of the wall -enclosing our valley. Clearly Christopher required no explanation to -understand my purpose. With slow, sure caution we took an eastwardly -course, parallel with the brink of the precipice and at a safe distance -from any men that might be patrolling it. From time to time we would -stop, creep nearer the edge, make a careful inspection, return in -silence, and go on. The violence of the storm abated somewhat, thus -making our progress swifter, but more risky. - -With true instinct Christopher went straight to what we had been -seeking,--the opening in the forest on the top of the wall fronting the -Face. The clear space was smooth, level rock. One segment of the nearly -circular opening was cut off by the sheer drop of the precipice. Near -that edge was an exquisitely built circular stone platform some four -feet high and ten in diameter. As we worked round for a nearer view, we -discovered on its top old marks of fire which the rains had not washed -off. I recognized it as the object that I had seen from the valley, -opposite the Face. There was a moon, but only a faint glow from it -filtered through the clouds; occasional flashes of lightning gave us -clearer seeing. The air was stifling. - -We edged nearer to the cliff, and stood peering across the valley as we -waited for light. It came, and revealed the Face. The sodden, sordid, -worse than bestial mask, more repulsive than ever in the gloom of -the storm, held its gaze fixed upon us. We were upon the scene of the -unthinkable tragedy awaiting Mr. Vancouver. - -We circled the eastern edge of the clearing. Soon we found a squat -structure of thatch, half hidden in the edge of the forest. It was -filled with neatly piled firewood. No surprise showed in Christopher's -face. - -After further exploration of the vicinity, and satisfied that the place -was unguarded, we loaded ourselves with wood from the hut, and plunged -into the thicket. A short distance away I had discovered a deep cleft. -We threw our loads into it; the fall was long before the sound came from -the bottom. Thus, after many trips, we disposed of all the fuel, and -hastened back to our hut for sleep. The night was far gone. - -The storm broke afresh, and I lay sleepless, and listened to the -elemental furies at play. Every nerve ached, and sleep was a sore need. -Contingencies riding the hurricane would likely offer still heavier work -for tomorrow. Whatever innocent pranks Beela might indulge, her -profound seriousness and her appreciation of the dangerous risks in this -undertaking were genuine. - -With the swirl and dash of the rain came the roar of the tearing wind -and the mighty bellow of thunder. Flash, peal, and boom rended the -firmament. Our cabin braced itself and strained under the tug, as though -digging its claws into the ground to hold firm. Large trees on the slope -behind us fell crashing. - -This was more than a hurricane: it was a tornado; perhaps worse yet, -a typhoon. Many ships ride out the worst of these; but mentally I saw -brown men being told off to man the promontories of the bight, and -to watch for staggering, heart-broken specks on the sea as the wind -following the hurricane urged them on slowly to a pleasant beach, five -hundred swordsmen, an oily savage king and a feast, and a march over -the mountain to a guarded paradise; thence to be "sent away" to their -homes--their eternal homes--one at a time! one at a time! So far as -civilization had reached, it had strangled an unspeakable practice in -these seas. - -Not even the churn of the storm in my veins could check the cold that -ran in my blood. Was the father of Annabel to be only the first? Were we -waiting as fattening hogs, instead of being out and afield, fighting a -way to liberty, and dying, if we must, as men should?... - -I found myself off the pallet and rolling on the floor. - -"Christopher?" I called, staggering to my feet. - -"Sir?" - -I knew by the nearness of his voice that he was already beside me, but -invisible in the blackness. - -"Light the lamp. We are going to dress." - -He obeyed without a word. I was feverishly rummaging for my clothes. - -"There, sir," he said, pointing to my moccasins, but neglecting to fetch -them to me. - -I had forgotten that my dress was Senatra and that moccasins were the -only part of it I had removed. I made a blundering affair of putting -them on, for the clutch of my hand was shaped better for a bludgeon just -then. Christopher was observing me with a mild, exasperating patience. - -"Put yours on," I roughly commanded. - -He made still denser the stupidity in his stare, and stood still. - -"Hurry!" I cried. - -"Sir?" - -"Hurry, I say! You are going too." - -"Me?" - -"Yes! We are going to take Mr. Vancouver away from those beasts." - -Without a change of expression he made a pretense of preparation. In -doing so, he edged up to the barred door, placed his wide back against -it, and calmly faced me. - -"What do you mean by that?" I demanded in a fury. - -"Sir?" - -"Stand aside, Christopher!" - -"Me, sir?" - -In exasperation I seized the copper vessel and advanced upon him. Not a -muscle of his body moved; his ape-like arms hung loose; his hands were -open. But it was not his defenselessness that stayed me. Far more potent -was the deep devotion in his eyes, which held a profounder sadness than -usual. It was a dash of cold water on my heat, but not my determination. -In all kindness I would reason with him. - -"Christopher," I asked, "do you know what they are going to do with Mr. -Vancouver?" - -He omitted his formula, and simply gazed at me. - -Then I told him, in raw, sore words. It was the first time they had been -spoken by a member of the colony. - -I was astonished at his placidity on hearing them. - -"Do you understand?" I had to thunder the question above the outer din. - -But he was listening to sounds that the storm did not make. I waited -impatiently. - -"They won't him, sir, if they get you." - -"Why not?" - -"You're younger 'n' fatter." - -Like most other of Christopher's remarks, this one dealt in a conclusive -terminal, omitting postulate and explication; but I understood. He -had told a long and dramatic story in those halting words--our blind -assault, our being beaten down and secured, and then the awful end. I -wondered at that, and longed for the power to see into the working of -his strangely luminous mind, its far light behind its frontal darkness. - -"And there ain't no dry wood, sir." - -The last of the ice in my blood broke and ran melting before him. I was -very tired, and found myself shifting on my feet like a drunken man. -Tongues of flame began to slip through the hut and dart hither and -thither with curious dips and turns. Some of them were purple, but the -most were crimson. A luminous vapor crept in. The boom of a waterfall -rumbled; and then came a crashing subterranean detonation. Christopher -was a gigantic ape floundering in a drowning sea of steam. - -"Christopher!" I cried, trying to catch the wall as it swung past. - -A firm, gentle arm went round me--an arm of a strength so great that -my most desperate struggles could not break its hold, yet I was a very -strong man. Slowly I was borne down on my pallet, and a thin, soothing -voice came with a hand that tenderly closed my eyes and held the lids -down. My breathing came easier. - -***** - -It was daylight, and Christopher was standing in the open door, looking -out. The rain had ceased, but the morning brightness was smothered under -the overhead lowering. The pleasant odor of coffee perfumed the hut. -Without appearing to notice my waking, Christopher served my breakfast, -but said nothing. A dull lassitude made the straw bed more inviting than -my feet. - -Beela's cheery good-morning an hour later was checked in alarm when she -entered and found me prone; but her electric vitality palpitated through -me and brought me smiling to a sitting posture. Her inquiring look -at Christopher read nothing in the bland face. A shadow of uneasiness -drifted through her eyes, but she drove it away. - -"Good!" she said. "I'm glad you are resting. Lie down again." She -dropped to a seat beside me on the straw, and pushed my head down. - -"That's better,--Choseph." Her hand was on my forehead. - -"Joseph," I insisted. - -"You don't like the way I talk, Ch--Dzhoseph?" banteringly, stealing sly -hands to mine and pretending to stare mockingly at me while peering into -my eyes. - -"Very well, Beelo. Did you square yourself with the king and have a good -rest last night?" - -"Of course. Do you think any king------" - -"Stop that." - -"What?" - -"Trying to see if I'm sick. Even though I were dead, your coming would -bring me to life." - -"My! Did you hear that, Christopher?" - -The sensible man did not answer, nor even look at her. She made a mouth -at his back, withdrew her hand, and edged away a few inches. Had I made -a slip after that confidence and caution from Lentala? I roused myself. - -"What's the news, little brother? What game and what killing today?" - -Her face fell grave. "Something has happened with you since I saw you -last night, Choseph." - -I told her all, and she held her breath over the audacity of our work. - -"I--I shouldn't have dared to suggest it," she said with charming -helplessness as she gave Christopher and me a look of wondering -admiration. "It was splendid, Choseph!" Her dear leaning girlishness, so -natural and unconscious, started a tumult in me, and it was hard for -me to keep the deception of her sex at work. "Now," she went on, "Mr. -Vancouver is safe so long as the weather is bad; and when it clears, -time will be needed to gather dry wood. We'll do nothing for the -present." - -"But we must be ready," I firmly protested, sitting up. "This matter is -in my hands and Christopher's now, not yours, my lad, for this is work -that only men can plan and do." - -The timidity in her look was new, but not less charming than her -surrender. - -"What are you going to do, Choseph?" she inquired with a mocking -exaggeration of a helpless reliance that was quite genuine. - -"We shall be ready to take Mr. Vancouver by stealth or force the moment -that actual danger comes near him. We will bring him to this hut and -hide him here. But a man from the colony will be needed to guard him. I -am going immediately to bring one out for that purpose." - -Her eyes kindled with alarm. "No, no, Choseph! That would be impossible. -You couldn't find the way nor pass the guard. I will go." Argument and -persuasion were equally useless; she knew when to be firm. "I will -go," was her answer to everything, and she came to her feet. "You and -Christopher come with me to the summit of the wall, and there you'll -hide near the guard, and wait. I'll bring the man nearly to the place -and send him ahead, and give you a signal. You must trick the guard out -of the way, and meet him; I will follow. It would ruin everything for me -to be seen." - -I agreed, and told her to bring Hobart. - -"Beelo," I said, "you understand that we have accomplished one of the -tasks for which you brought us out of the valley, and in doing so have -learned the fate awaiting our colony." - -Her face at once grew pinched. "Don't speak of it, Choseph!" she cried. -"I don't know whether you have or not, and I don't know what is in your -mind. Simply think of saving Mr. Vancouver." - -"Of course, dear lad," I agreed; "but we must be planning also for means -to leave the island, since only something awful awaits us here. You -must tell me all that I should know. I won't dance any longer to your -mysteries and concealments." - -It was as though I had struck her. She stared, her eyes flooding, her -lips trembling. - -"Choseph," she answered, "there are things that you must see and -hear for yourself, and they will come tonight and tomorrow. I'll take -you----" - -"I must know now," I demanded, not realizing the harshness of my tone. - -"Choseph, I----" - -"Did you speak to me, sir?" came from Christopher, standing behind her. - -"No, Christopher. We'll wait, dear little brother." The sunshine came -swimming into her eyes again, and she made a grimace of triumph in which -was an understanding that Christopher had disciplined me. - -"You'll be good now, won't you, Choseph?" It was said in her most -teasing manner, and I smiled. - -We started under an angry sky through which heavy cloud-masses tumbled. -It was a cautious journey. The very air seemed filled with expectancy. -On the way we formulated a plan for tricking the guard. - -In approaching the point of egress from the valley, Beela practiced the -slyness of a lynx and the silence of a serpent. Every step was studied -lest a twig snap; the leaves on the ground had been softened by the -rain. Presently we sighted the guard--a draggled lot, unused to exposure -and dispirited by the weather. There Beela left us in hiding. I now -understood the perils that she had breasted in every trip to the valley. -If they were so difficult under these conditions, how much more they -must have been when fair weather made the guard alert and the ground -noisy under foot! - -Beela was to warn us of Hobart's coming by giving a certain bird-call -thrice. Christopher's answering signal would be notice to Beela that -Hobart was safe. - -The savages, not twenty paces away--at least two dozen stalwart -men--were variously squatting, sitting, and lounging. They were in a -compact group, and were talking in low voices, but with an animation -unusual to the race. I motioned Christopher to follow, and we crept -nearer. - -Some important news had just been brought by the relief guard. - -"And so the king isn't going to wait for night," said one, as though the -news was surprising. - -"That is true," came the answer. "He fears that the ground will shake -at any time. Besides, the storm will likely come again tonight, and the -great fire would be impossible then." - - - - -CHAPTER XV.--The Lash in Unwilling Hands. - -_How We Outwitted the Guard. A Sword Encounter With a Native. Rawley -Gives Me a Sensational Surprise. The Tragedy to Mr. Vancouver Delayed_. - - -I WAS absorbed in conjuring up plans for Mr. Vancouver's rescue; but -the more I thought of it, the madder the undertaking seemed. Suppose we -should take him; would not the whole island swarm in a search? - -I had calculated that Beela and Hobart should come in four hours. More -than half that time was already gone when Christopher and I returned -to our original hiding-place. That the storm, the Black Face, and Mr. -Vancouver's fate were interwoven, there could be no doubt. Barring -hindering contingencies, matters were rapidly drawing to a crisis. If -the necessity for urgent action on Mr. Vancouver's account should arise -before Beela's return with Hobart, that young man would be caught in -a trap, as there would be none but savages to meet him. In whatsoever -direction I turned, many chances for a fatal slip and added -complications appeared. - -A solution of one branch of the problem crept out of the strain,--that -of clearing the way for Hobart. I mentioned it to Christopher, and was -gratified at his acquiescence. - -"But what about Mr. Vancouver?" I asked. - -"We _have_ to wait for _her_, sir," he answered after listening, and his -manner was final. - -The triple bird-note came. We waited. It was repeated. I slipped round -to the trail used by the guard, and openly approached them. They stared -at me in silence. Beela had told me that in an emergency Christopher -and I, to explain peculiarities of our appearance that no disguise could -conceal, should explain that we were from the western end of the island, -where some white blood had mingled with the native, producing, with -other deviations from the normal type, men of a more aggressive and -daring disposition, which gave them an advantage over the natives at -this end, and that on occasion the king called on the western men for -special services. - -"Why haven't you done your duty?" I sternly demanded. - -The guard showed only dull surprise, none either moving or speaking. - -"Haven't you seen the Black Face scowling?" I went on. "Go immediately -and attend to your duty, or the Face won't wait for a white man." - -They were impressed and frightened. "What shall we do?" asked one. - -"Clean the stone in the clearing, and so make it ready. Every one of you -go, at once. Then come back here." - -They looked from one to another, bewildered, the order evidently being -extraordinary. "And leave the pass unguarded?" the same one inquired. - -"Am I not here? Go immediately!" - -"Did Gato send you?" asked a big fellow, advancing, sword in hand. His -weapon was held threateningly, and scraped the bushes as he came. - -Not daring to take any chances with him, and not having had sufficient -experience with these people to interpret their motive from their -conduct, I sprang past him before he could raise his weapon, snatched a -sword from an astonished native, backed away to keep the crowd before me -until I had faced the one who had advanced upon me, and went at him with -a determination that opened his eyes and instinctively brought his sword -to guard. I discovered that the sword which I held was a heavy affair, -broad and very old-fashioned. Before my inexpert antagonist knew what -had happened, my sword had twisted his from his grasp and sent it flying -into the bushes, and my point was at his breast. There was an excited -movement in the crowd, but before anything could be done I loudly said -to my captive: - -"I have a good mind to kill you. Take your squad to the clearing at -once." - -"Yes," he hastily agreed, staring at me in wonder, and added, as his -interest overcame his panic, "Are they coming with him soon?" - -"That is neither your affair nor mine. If you don't go instantly I'll -arrest the entire squad and take you all to the palace." - -They obediently marched away. - -In returning to Christopher I made a detour, so as to pass the spot -where Hobart was to appear. I had instructed Christopher to remain a -short distance away, as it would be easier for one to meet Hobart than -two. My real reason, which I did not mention to Christopher, was that as -a native his appearance was one of singular ferocity. I did not wish to -run the risk of shocking Hobart out of his self-command. - -To my astonishment, Rawley, not Hobart, rose above the edge of the -bluff. Perhaps my angry exasperation showed in my manner, for Rawley, -after a startled glance, and seeing me alone, sprang upon me in the -moment of my hesitation. His leap was swift and stirring, but I avoided -him, and began to speak in a low voice. It had no effect. Rawley sprang -again. I caught the violent thrust of his body, and an elbow better -trained than he had expeded took him in the throat, crashed his teeth -together jarringly, and sent him reeling and strangling. - -I again spoke, but he was too dazed to hear, and came at me again, more -warily, with the glare of killing in his eyes, and still not heeding -my pacific words. The natural grace with which he began to work for -an opening gave his feline ease a threat that set me tingling. He was -desperately in earnest, and my windpipe was his objective. There was -no falter in his play, which I critically observed as I stood on the -defensive. And then it came to me that this was neither the madness of -fear nor the desperation of the cornered coward, but the awakening of -that ultimate manhood in him which for so long had been held down by an -artificial life. Even had he not forced me to silence, the game was so -fine and exciting that I should have been tempted to cease my efforts to -explain in my desire to see it through. - -As his leaps were astonishingly clever and he might land at any moment, -I began to crowd him. While moving to do so, I heard Christopher's -signal to Beela, but did not pause to see where he was; Rawley also must -have heard it, for something spurred his activities. In order to save -Beela from the trap in which he supposed himself to have fallen, he must -finish me at once. - -I dodged his next spring, but his fingers scraped my throat. Then he -found himself crushed in my arms. The short blows which he sent into -my ribs had no effect, but they were delivered with a will. Beela rose -above the summit, and understood all at a glance. - -But, Beela-like, she saw only that it was ridiculous. Without taking -the trouble to enlighten Rawley, who desisted as soon as he saw her -laughing, she passed from surprise into unrestrained mirth. Rawley, -standing away from me, stared at her in astonishment. - -Seeing no sign of Hobart, I sharply inquired in the native tongue where -he was. - -"Captain Mason sent this one instead," she answered after finding her -breath. - -I was aghast. "What reason did he give?" - -"None, Choseph. He thought you would understand, I suppose." - -The blunder was incredible. Here were Mr. Vancouver and Rawley, the -arch-enemies of the colony, sent out armed with fresh opportunity for -destroying us, and we charged with the safety of their lives! The game -had been sufficiently difficult and dangerous without that. I bitterly -resented Captain Mason's course. He was aware of the antagonism between -Rawley and me. - -"Why did Captain Mason send him?" I demanded. - -"He begged to come, Choseph." - -That staggered me. What had happened to the man to change him so? "What -did he say?" I asked. - -"I don't know. He said little, although he was very much in earnest. On -the way he said to himself several times, 'She called me a coward. They -all think I'm a coward.'" - -Christopher had come up and was standing placidly by. Of a sudden Rawley -recognized me as the savage who had visited Mr. Vancouver in the camp. -He was composed, but had not yet discovered my real identity. A word -from Beela disclosed Christopher and me to him. It broke in a crash on -the young man. What reflections were belaboring him I could only guess -from the shame crimsoning his face. I took his hand. - -"Mr. Rawley," I said, "I am sorry that this has happened between us." - -I interrupted something that he was trying to stammer by telling Beela -how I had disposed of the guard. "They'll soon return," I added. "We -must leave." - -"Yes, but we must find out first whether they discovered the loss of the -wood. Several hours would be required to bring up fresh fuel. Don't you -think it's very interesting, Choseph? My! how solemn you look!" - -Her careless insolence tried me, for the peril was great. - -"It's a pity you never had any one to teach you to be serious," I let -fly. - -"That would be the funniest thing of all," she returned, amused. "Would -you like to try it?" - -Her sweet archness made me take a half angry, half possessing step -forward, but a look stopped me. - -"They are coming!" said she, and we hid. - -The savages were more animated than before, and they wondered among -themselves when the white man would be brought up from the settlement, -and whether all or any of themselves would be relieved from guard duty, -that they might witness the proceedings. It was clear that they had not -missed the wood. - -We slipped away. When we had come near our hut, Beela asked us to wait -while she took Rawley to that hiding-place. - -"Beelo," I firmly said, "you don't understand. That man and I cannot -live together." - -She regarded me with a suspicious-looking sadness. "Enemies among -yourselves, Choseph! Is this the best that wise men with so much at -stake can do?" With a smile I took her hand. "Thank you, dear little -brother," I said. "I will do my part." - -Tears easily came to Beela's eyes, and made them moist now. - -"But you and Christopher are not to stay here any longer. Wouldn't you -like to be nearer the beautiful, the good, the angel Lentala?" - -"Explain, lad." - -"Wait till I come back." - -She darted to the hut with Rawley, and soon returned. - -"The first thing," she said, "is to find out the plans for Mr. -Vancouver. Although the wood is gone, the king won't be balked, and the -getting of more wood will be but a matter of hours. When we discover -that the preparations are really afoot, Mr. Vancouver must be taken by -you. Before that, there is plenty to do." We struck out for the slope -overlooking the main settlement, and on the way passed near the hut -where Mr. Vancouver was held. Beela disappeared within and soon returned -with the news that the threatening weather was holding everything in -abeyance. - -Avoiding roads, we breasted the verdured heights and worked round the -suburbs. As we mounted, the view expanded. The settlement, embowered -among trees, made the fairest picture I had ever beheld. I longed to see -it under the mellow sunshine, which would make its colors more vivid; -but even without that, the scene was satisfying. It was a considerable -city, which had grown more by natural accretion than by plan. Broad, -tree-lined highways with curves instead of right lines swept lengthwise -through it. Many houses were of stone roughly laid up, and with roofs of -mud or thatch. Remarkable effects had been secured by use of the native -stone in its color variations. Of exceeding beauty was a pleasant stream -which loitered through the settlement. - -Most conspicuous was the palace of the king, with its accessory -buildings and walled grounds. Unlike all the other houses, the palace -was two stories in height, was of great size, and sat in generous -grounds enclosed with a massive stone wall. I discovered Lentala's -quarters; they were in a wing. Hamlets with adjoining farms dotted the -farther slope and stretched up the valley; there were still more, said -Beela, in other parts of the island. - -With our further climbing, the ocean rose on the horizon, and a modern -sea-going vessel sprang up inshore in a harbor at the foot of the -settlement. My heart leaped as I studied her. - -"What ship is that, Beelo?" I exclaimed. - -"Yours, Choseph," she answered with a bright smile. "I was waiting for -you to find it. That is what is to take your people home if a great -earthquake comes and we can bring them out of the valley. The king -wanted to destroy it, but Lentala persuaded him not only to save it, but -to put it in order, as he might need it some time." - -That she had reserved this precious information for so dramatic a use -did not impress me at the time. Not till now did I realize that her -purely feminine instinct for the theatrical made so large a figure in -her withholdings and revelations. - -My throat filled. I seized Christopher's arm and tried to speak, but -no words issued, and I found that he was already gazing seaward. I had -never seen in his eyes such wistfulness, so far and deep a vision, as -when he raised them to mine. - -From him I turned to Beela, and found a look of neglect and expediency. - -"Dear little brother," I said, and extended my hand; but she pouted, and -put her arms behind her. - -"I am not your dear little brother," she said, her lip trembling. "I am -a savage. You gave your first joy to one of your race." The pain in her -face was deep. - -"Forgive me, lad." I was very humble, but her swimming eyes were turned -away, and there was a swelling in her throat. What could I say? how make -her understand? "Beelo, I------" - -"It can't be explained," she interrupted, turning sadly away; and we -went on in silence. - -All at once, without any visible cause, she was her sunny, mischievous -self again. I was exceedingly anxious for information,--what had become -of the _Hope's_ salvable cargo; whether her seizure by us was part of -the plan to which we were working. But I had not the courage to mention -the vessel again, lest pain come to Beela's face. Ever since her return -from the valley I had been anxious for her report as to any plan of -action that she had arranged with Captain Mason, and I now conjectured -that she had deferred it until we should see our vessel. With a blunder -in tact I had closed her lips. - -"Now," said she, "we'll return and keep an eye on Mr. Vancouver. Do you -think you know the settlement now and could make your way in the night -through it?" - -"Perfectly," wondering at her impressiveness. - -"And do you, Christopher?" - -"Yes, ma'am." - -Unmistakably she had a very intelligent purpose in thus making us -acquainted with the topography of the settlement and the presence of our -vessel. With that idea I began to make a closer study of the approaches -and thoroughfares, although I could form no conception of means whereby -the colony might use them against the overwhelming horde of armed -natives. But Beela's comely head was packed with shrewdness. - -The weather became more threatening with the approach of evening. At -night, Beela left us concealed near the prison hut, and went to bring -our supper. - -After she had returned and we had eaten, she suggested that Christopher -and I go and see the prisoner, and learn all that we could. Gato would -not be on duty, and the light was dim. Thence we should go to the -postern in the palace wall, and there be met by her. Then she left. - -When we were near the hut a shadow leaped out of the ground, and -challenged. I answered as Beela had instructed, and the guard stepped -aside. We entered, and the two natives sitting with the prisoner gave us -only a glance. In an authoritative manner I bade them wait outside, and -they obediently went. - -Mr. Vancouver was sitting on a stool, his head bowed in dejection, but -he quickly straightened, and drilled us with a keenly questioning look, -in which fear, anxiety, and hope were present. It was evident that he -was profoundly suspicious. He was too shrewd not to see the significance -of his being kept under guard in a hovel instead of being the king's -guest. - -I asked him in Senatra English if he was comfortable. Over his haggard -face flashed an eager interest. - -"That is nothing," he impatiently answered. "I want to know why I am kept -here." - -"Do you really expect to see the king?" I asked. - -He started. "What do you mean?" he demanded. - -"What do you think you are here for?" - -"The king sent for me--for a conference." A red light came into his -eyes. - -"A conference. Suppose he has made up his mind that he can dispose of -the white people without your help, and that you happen to be first." - -The sallowness that already had entered his face since his imprisonment -became livid, and the red light flared. - -"To be sent away?" he thickly asked. - -"Yes. Sent away. That is as good a name for it as any other." - -I had ignored Christopher's gentle tug at my sleeve. A quiver ran -through Mr. Vancouver as if a knife had been slipped between his ribs. -It was with difficulty that he found breath for speech. - -"Doesn't the king know that I can make him incredibly rich from his gold -and silver and diamond mines? Doesn't he understand that------" - -"Perhaps he is as rich as he cares to be. Besides, he has never trusted -a white man; and why should he trust one that betrays his own friends?" -I could not avoid giving him that thrust. - -He came weakly to his feet, terror and despair in every line. - -"Did the king send you to say this?" he gasped. - -I made no answer. The man sent a wild glance about as though to measure -his strength with his prison, and to end all doubts quickly by any -means. Then I saw that his wits were gone, and that the purpose of my -talk, which was to prepare him for the revelation I had come to make, -that he might be on his guard, had miscarried. - -Christopher, in the background, edged round, keeping his back, as I -kept mine, to the feeble light. I could not imagine that Mr. Vancouver, -desperate though he was, would seize this moment to try issues with -his fate; but I had not guessed soon enough that the red light meant -madness. With a choking curse he snatched up his heavy stool and sprang -with it upraised in both hands to crush me. - -Before his leap was ended, a heavy body crashed into him, and two giant -arms were cracking his joints and sending the stool flying over my head. -The two guards came running in, but I sent them back. Christopher needed -no aid. - -The pinioned man rolled his head and eyes horribly, and cursed through -foaming lips. He made futile efforts to sink his teeth into Christopher; -he kicked wildly; he squirmed like an animal under a strangling hand. -But Christopher's arms knew the mercy of strength, and he kept dropping -soothing words. Like a pillar sunk deep in the earth stood Christopher -while his prisoner gasped curses and put fierce energy into every -muscle. - -"I know you!" he sputtered at me. "You are the infernal native dog -that fooled me and trifled with me in camp. Let me at his throat, you -baboon!"--to Christopher. "Loose me! Let me die with my arms free!" -He called the king and me and all the natives unspeakable names. "In -decency and mercy," he fumed, "kill me at once! I know now what you are -going to do with me,--you cannibals!" - -Christopher's quieting tongue was as persistent as his arms, and under -them Mr. Vancouver was gradually breaking down. Christopher assured -the wretch that no harm would befall him. The man who could resist such -persuasion would be less than human and worse than mad. Mr. Vancouver's -curses straggled off, his struggles ceased, and the red flame died in -his eyes. Christopher had coaxed reason back. - -He seated Mr. Vancouver, bathed his face, and gave him water to drink. -With a gentle touch he unlaced and removed the sufferer's shoes, and -undressed him. The man had become a child in Christopher's hands, and -was wholly docile when made comfortable in bed. - -There had been no personal heed of Christopher in Mr. Vancouver's -yielding; but it evidently occurred to him at last that here was -something strangely different from the manner of the natives--something -nearer and humanly akin. He had been studying Christopher; and when he -was composed, and Christopher was turning away, Mr. Vancouver seized his -arm and held him, looking earnestly into his face, and then covering his -figure with a startled glance. His eyes opened with astonishment. - -"Who are you?" he demanded under his breath. - -"You know, sir." - -"Christopher!" - -"Yes, sir. Speak low." - -"What are you doing here, disguised like that?" - -"Captain Mason sent us, sir." - -"What for?" - -"To save you, sir. Don't talk." - -Mr. Vancouver breathed laboredly, and the veins in his forehead bulged. - -"Who was sent with you?" he faintly asked. - -"Him, sir," indicating me. - -I saw the knot come in the suffering man's throat as he rolled his -bloodshot eyes upon me, half raised himself on his elbow, and stared -while his breathing rasped. - -"Who is he?" came chokingly, with a clutch on Christopher's arm. - -"Mr. Tudor, sir." - -A spasm caught Mr. Vancouver in the chest, and a rigor ran through -him. His eyes closed, his head swung back, his mouth fell open, and -Christopher eased the insensible man down on the pillow. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI.--A Light in the Gloom. - -_Subtle Changes in Beela. A Startling Discovery in the Palace Vaults. -The Secrets of the Council Chamber Overheard. Urgent Measures Planned._ - - -YOU are late!" blithely greeted Beela when we arrived at the palace -gate after leaving Mr. Vancouver. "That shows how much you think of the -beautiful, the angel, the sweet, the good Lentala, for you are to sleep -in her quarters tonight." - -We were just in time, for the heavens were opening, and the deluge was -at hand. - -With great caution Beela conducted us to a chamber in Lentala's wing -of the palace. Evidently it was a sanctuary, for it was quite different -from the room in which Lentala had received us, and Beela carelessly -remarked that in giving us the room, her sister was bestowing a special -favor, since not even her servants were ever admitted. - -"Because," Beela chattered on as she lighted the beautiful lamps, "this -is where she comes to lead alone the life that she dreams about, far, -far away, where there are no Senatras,--the life that was born in our -blood, Choseph, and that we can see very dimly, and in our dreams only. -But this room helps Lentala to dream of it. Do you remember the story -you told me one day? She has changed the room tonight merely by bringing -in these couches for you and Christopher to sleep on." - -I felt something new in Beela's manner,--a note of sentiment singing -low in her voice, an augmented softness and grace in her bearing. She -appeared to be struggling against it and striving to be the boy Beelo. -Some success came, but the winning note still sang in her throat. - -She opened an adjoining room, and disclosed a bath. - -"Your Senatra tint is a little damaged," she cheerily said. "Wash it -off; you'll not need it tonight. Here's a fresh supply for tomorrow -morning. Don't forget to put it on! But there's much to do before you -sleep. I am going to take you to the Council Chamber. Dress as quickly -as possible. I have to make some changes myself. When you are ready, -give three light taps on that door." - -"Thank you, dear little brother, but where's Lentala?" - -"Lentala! Do you think she can sit up all night waiting for callers?" - -"We are to see her in the morning, then?" - -Beela had been bustling over finishing touches for our comfort, but my -question--perhaps my tone--stopped her. - -"Do you wish to see her?" she asked. - -"Of course." - -"Why?" - -"Beelo! Can you ask that? Unless we see Lentala whenever we come to the -palace, the jungle is more comfortable." - -She turned away, pretending to be hurt. - -"And so you don't care for Beelo. It is nothing to sleep under the same -roof with him." - -"But Beelo is a part of my life, dear lad. However far away he may -be, he is always with me. Whenever and wherever I go, my dear little -brother's hand is in mine; and no matter when or where I sleep, his -sweet breath is on my cheek; and the touch of his light fingers on -my lids and the ring of his cheery laugh in my heart wake me in the -morning. In my dreams----" I paused, for Beela embarrassed me by the -breathless interest with which she was listening. - -"In your dreams, Choseph?" - -"Then Beelo comes with another. He leads that one by the hand, and -smiles at me, and says in his musical voice, 'This one also you must -like, big brother, for this is Beelo's best friend.'" - -She came close and looked up into my eyes. - -"That other one, big brother?" - -"Is Lentala." - -Her breath caught as she moved away, and she was silent for a little -while as she gave the last touches and started to leave. At the door she -threw me a mischievous glance, and said: - -"You have funny dreams, Choseph, but I'll tell Lentala you wish to see -her," and was gone. - -I had already observed that no touch of native savagery rested on -this room. Every article of use or adornment was of a highly civilized -production. The barbaric splendor of the reception-room was absent here, -and a dainty, girlish simplicity was the note. Exceedingly charming -were products of her needlework and other handicraft copied from foreign -articles. There were some English books that showed signs of hard use. I -picked up one and found a dainty handkerchief within it, and felt a pity -for Lentala thus reaching out for what she could not understand. - -Beela appeared in different clothes when I rapped, and was much fresher -and smarter than I had ever seen her. She looked conscious under my -admiring glance, and expressed gratification at the improvement in my -looks. - -"Beelo, you are as pretty as a girl. Fie!" - -She pretended not to hear, and was busy lighting a lantern. - -"They are all asleep in this wing," she said. "Now we'll go. Listen to -the storm! Mr. Vancouver is safe for another day, I hope. And still no -earthquake." - -I felt a twinge, but no opportunity had offered for my telling her of -the incident in the hut. The truth is, I dreaded lest she find fault -with Christopher for disclosing our identity to Mr. Vancouver and my -knowledge of his perfidy. - -It would be difficult to say in what lay the finer air of Beela's dress. -In cut the garments had a masculine approach, but in China they might -have passed for feminine. The trousers and blouse were of fine dark-blue -cloth, and were ample. In place of the somewhat shabby straw hat was -a becoming red turban, and the shoes were Turkish, red, and richly -embroidered in gold. The blouse opened like a V at the neck, and a -negligee tie matching in shade the turban and the shoes was secured with -a splendid diamond at the bottom of the V. - -More insinuating than these outward things were the girl's gentler voice -and manner. There was a hint of the young mother in her caressing look -and touch, and the cello note in her voice had fallen still softer and -smoother. - -In lighting the lantern, she disarranged her turban by striking it -against a piece of furniture. She straightened, and raised her arms -to readjust it. Her sleeves were wide and open, and they slipped down, -baring her arms. - -I had been trying with all my might to keep from my mind the delicious -thought of Beelo's metamorphosis, but self-deception was no longer -possible. I _must_ revel in this new and pleasant experience. The one -duty that I must observe was the keeping of my promise to Lentala that I -would not let her little sister know that I knew. - -"Are we ready?" cheerily asked Beela, picking up the lantern and -darkening it with a cloth. "Come. No talking till I give you leave. We -must be careful in this wing, for Lentala's servants might wake. The -noises of the storm will help us, but the veranda is drenched. We must -take the other way." - -She opened the door through which she had entered last, and we were -in darkness when she closed it; but I had dimly seen that it was a -corridor. - -"We can't use the lantern yet," she whispered, slipping her hand down my -sleeve to my fingers. "Can you find your way, Christopher?" - -"Yes." There was always something tragic in Christopher's whisper. - -"Do you love me, Christopher?" she teasingly asked, squeezing my -fingers. - -"Yes, ma'am." - -It required great stoicism for me to hold my hand passive and not return -the pressure, but I was amazed when she abruptly dropped my fingers. -I could see nothing except a faint glow through the cloth about the -lantern, but I peremptorily seized her sleeve, drew her arm up, took her -hand, and squeezed it hard, for reproof. She made no resistance. Beela -was very sweet in the dark,--I remembered the passage through the -mountain. - -We almost immediately turned into a much longer stretch, as I knew -by the whispering echoes of our steps; and soon the shrouded light of -Beela's lantern made the walls visible. After leading us down a dark -stair she halted before a door, unlocked it, ushered us within, relocked -the door, and removed the cloth from the light. - -This chamber was a disordered lumber-room, filled with odds and ends of -broken things, native and foreign. I was less interested in the rubbish -than in the new picture of Beela in the ascending light from the -lantern. It made a witchery of her chin, emphasized the graceful curve -of her lips, filled her delicate nostrils, and threw her eyes into -mystical shadow. I tried to get her hand again, but failed. Beela in the -light was not the same as Beela in the dark. - -She paused, and breathed more freely. - -"We are safe for a while now," she said. It was hard to listen -composedly to her words, so sweet was the tone of them. - -She wound and twisted through the stores, we following, and brought up -at a door which a stranger, likely, never would have found. This she -unlocked, passed us through, and secured behind us. The air was dank -and musty, and despite the lantern there were uncanny patches of -phosphorescent light on walls otherwise invisible as yet. The space was -roomy, the floor earthen. It proved to be a large cellar-like chamber -with a low ceiling supported by stone pillars groined into arches, and -was paved, furnished with grated windows, and sweet and dry. Here were -immense stores: American-tinned provisions in astonishing abundance; -bale upon bale of cloth of many kinds; modern farming implements, -and machinery and tools for sawyers, carpenters, cabinet-makers, -upholsterers, and many other useful trades; and at one side an array of -firearms and ammunition. - -Beela was watching me in my astonishment, for not the smallest item of -this store had I seen in use by the natives. - -"Don't you know what it all is, Choseph?" she asked. - -I shook my head. - -"It is the cargo of your vessel." - -I was speechless. Two things were clear: one, that the water-tight -bulkheads in the Hope had not given way (which accounted for her pursuit -of us instead of sinking), and the other, that the natives had carefully -repaired all the water-damage possible. The thorough care of the cargo -very likely had extended to the vessel herself. - -My emotion was profound. I wrung Beela's hand, but something in my eyes -made her dim and floating. Only vaguely could I see the sweet uplift and -happiness in her face. Christopher was standing apart like a man of wood -except that his eyes were living. If he needed any expression from me of -the almost cruel joy that filled me, he gave no sign, but stood in the -pathetic loneliness that forever invested him. - -"We must go on," said Beela. "It is time for the king's privy council." - -A devious way through another storage vault filled with things no doubt -of great value, the ascent of a stone stair, a turning into this passage -and another into that, and a short flight of steps, brought us at last -upon a curtained balcony overlooking a dimly lighted council hall of -considerable size and rich in savage appointments. The king was on a -throne facing us, and in a semi-circle before him, seated on rugs on the -stone floor, were old and elderly native men splendidly appareled. The -king was even more sumptuously robed than on the day of our reception -by him. He had no personal attendants, for this, Beela explained in a -whisper, was not a state council, but a secret one, called occasionally -for extraordinary purposes, composed of selected wise men, and generally -held late at night. The balcony where we sat was for the use of the -queen and her feminine friends at state meetings. The diaphanous -curtains, of an exquisite native texture and handsomely embroidered, -could be seen through from our side, which was in shadow, but not from -the other. - -One thing had been puzzling me exceedingly. It was that no American and -European articles looted from wrecks were in use in their original form -by any of the natives except Lentala and Beela. - -"Because," Beela had told me in answer to my question, "the natives -don't need them, and are more content without them. The king is wise -with his people, and they love him." - -The council was under way. An old man had been droning something that -I did not hear, for his voice was weak and the storm noisy. The king -nodded to another, a younger man, who came to his splendid full height. -His gold-embroidered cloak of office slipped from his great right -shoulder and arm after he had risen from his obeisance. - -"What is the temper of the Senatras, Gato?" the king asked. - -"Very impatient, Sire. There are murmurings and small secret gatherings. -Rebellion is in the air." - -The king moved uneasily. "And your soldiers?" he inquired. - -"I have them in hand as yet, but they are naturally affected by the -restlessness among the people, and are sick of waiting and of guarding -the passes. They have never been on duty so long. They love their homes -and farms, and they can't understand the delay. If a wreck should come -with this storm, where will the people from it be held?" - -"There is plenty of room in the valley," snapped the king, making an -impatient gesture. "And don't our people know that the crowd we have -there is different from any castaways we have had before? Of course we -can't let any of them leave the island, for they suspect its wealth, -and would return with soldiers and guns, and destroy us. But we have to -proceed cautiously. There are more than a hundred and fifty picked men -in the party, and their leaders, Mason and Tudor, and the giant ape -Christopher, are shrewd, bold men, and have no fear." - -We three were sitting close together, Beela in the middle. One of her -hands stole out, took Christopher's, squeezed it, and released it. The -other found my hand; I closed on its warm softness and kept it prisoned. - -"In some mysterious way," Gato explained, "they have outwitted us. Our -plan was to break them up by using the old traitor Vancouver, but they -evidently discovered his treachery, and I have just learned that they -sent him out as our first offering to the Black Face, while letting him -think that he was going to betray them to us." - -"I suppose," said the king, "that he is as good as another for the -sacrifice. That will satisfy the people for a time, but he is the first -and the last that we'll get from that crowd without bloody work, and I -don't wish my subjects to be killed." - -He paused, and the others waited. Beela's breathing had grown quick; -there was a slight quiver in her hand. - -The king went on: - -"Mason evidently suspects that the people taken out of the valley will -not be sent away, and so he is holding them together. No doubt they have -armed themselves, and are ready to fight. Mason will be in no hurry to -precipitate an issue with us, for they can subsist indefinitely where -they are, we can't strengthen our position against them, and time, he -reasons, may bring me to liberate them in a body." - -It was impossible not to recognize the kindliness and benevolence in the -king's voice and words. - -"May I speak, Sire?" - -"Yes, Gato." - -"I fear that Vancouver is going mad." - -The king looked his dismay. - -"He mumbles," proceeded Gato; "his eyes are wild at times; he calls for -his daughter, and weeps like a child; he cannot eat, and his sleep is -broken with loud cries." - -"Is there much of that?" the king asked in alarm. - -"No, Sire; only rarely. If he is taken to the sacrificial altar when he -has a lucid period,------" - -"The risk is great," groaned the king. "The people would resent the -offering up of a madman; and we can do nothing while the storm lasts. -The people can't assemble. We must wait. You men go among the Senatras -tomorrow and pacify them. Tell them that all will be well. Do they say -that the Face is threatening, Gato?" - -"Yes, Sire. Some fools have seen it and spread tales about it. One is -that green water streams out of its eyes, and another is that the mouth -has opened and that purple flames come forth." - -Beela's start thrilled me. The news brought the king to his feet. - -"Is it true, Gato,--the open mouth and the purple flame?" - -"I do not know, Sire. I have not seen it, and I do not believe it." - -"But it may be true! Find out tomorrow morning, and let me know." He -was leaving the throne, and although the light was poor, I could see a -totter in his step and haggardness in his face. - -The others were rising. The king turned to them, and said: - -"If _that_ is true,--" He did not finish, but stood in a daze. "The -council is ended," he weakly added, and slowly left the chamber, the -others filing after him. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII.--Disciplined by a Woman. - -_Lentala's Odd Mistake. Beela Finds Me Refractory. The Deep-Laid Plan of -Gato. Christopher and I Charged With Service to the Old King_. - - -SLEEP held away that night. The revelations of the privy council had -been startling. Some things were clear. One was that the king was a -shrewd, easy-going, kindly man, vastly wiser than his subjects, and -finding it simpler to rule them by pampering their superstitions than by -raising them to his own understanding. Another was that he felt himself -on the edge of a crisis, saw no way to avert a possible catastrophe, and -was facing it with a paralyzing dread. - -Lentala, fresh and radiant, brought our breakfast. Except for her color, -not a trace of savagery remained about her. Her dress was a simple -house-frock of fine white linen, and of a modern style. Her hair was -done exactly like Annabel's. - -It did not improve her appearance. Had she been white, there would have -been no touch of the incongruous. But in this fresh, sweet daintiness, -much of her savage splendor had been sunk, and I felt a keen -disappointment. The former Lentala, for all her barbarity, had never -seemed an alien, but more a bringing back to me of a deeply rooted -principle fundamental in my heritage. - -She appeared to expect a compliment; but how could I be otherwise than -sincere with her? Our greetings were pleasant; yet her clothes had set a -constraint between us. - -"You don't like my dress, Mr. Tudor?" she ruefully asked. - -"It is exquisite, Lentala, and----" - -"I made it all myself, from a picture in a book out of your ship! I -thought you would like it. Doesn't Annabel dress this way?" - -"Yes; but in the native dress your beautiful, rich color----" I paused -in my floundering for a delicate way in which to say it. "Annabel is -white, you know," I blundered. - -Foreseeing my explanation, she had turned flutteringly away before my -final words came, and was still holding the empty copper tray on which -she had brought our breakfast. It fell with a clatter; her back was -turned to me when she picked it up in confusion. - -"A white woman!" She did not look at me. "Yes, she can wear dainty -things and be sweet; but a brown savage woman----" - -I had risen from my seat at the table and was advancing toward her. -She turned and faced me defiantly, backing away, her eyes flashing. In -another second, with a lightning change which showed her near kinship -with Beela, she smiled sweetly, and asked with a dash of her old -coquetry: - -"Would you like Lentala better if she were white and pink like Annabel?" - -"How could I like Lentala white more than Lentala brown, since, first -and last, it is Lentala that I like?" - -She frowned comically in an effort to puzzle some sense out of that -speech. - -"I mean," I added, laughing at her perplexity, "that I like Lentala -because she is Lentala, not because she isn't some one else." - -That was another poser, and she made just such a little wry face over it -as I had seen Beela make many a time. Her face brightened as she made a -dash at a short cut out: - -"Do you like me _because_ I'm brown?" - -"That is a question! It isn't because you aren't white that I like you." - -"_Could_ you like me if I were white?" She stamped impatiently. - -"I'd try to," I sighed. - -She made a little pout, stuck up her chin, turned stiffly, and went out -with great dignity. It was the Lentala of the feast! - -Beela entered when we had finished breakfast. In her rough clothes and -tightly bound hair, she made so sharp a contrast to Lentala that, for a -moment, I could not think of her as a girl, but as the dear lad whom I -had lost. She had none of her brilliant sparkle now, and my heart ached -to see the weariness and anxiety that she tried so bravely to conceal. - -"What's afoot for today, dear little brother?" I cheerily inquired. - -She was regarding me solemnly. "You've had your wish, I suppose. You've -seen Lentala this morning." - -"Yes. She brought our breakfast. She's an angel." - -"Pooh!" Beela was bored. "I've seen her. She looked a fright in those -clothes. Trying to ape Annabel! She ought to have better sense. I know -you were disgusted." - -"Beelo!" - -"Don't talk! I know." - -"You are tired and cross this morning, lad." - -She flopped into a chair, very glum. "Women are _such_ fools!" she -grumbled. - -"Now I am grieved to learn that Lentala is not a woman, for she could -never be a fool." - -Beela looked at me with sad reproach, and shook her head. - -"Just now," I went on, "she was a rich red rose sparkling with morning -dew. Her smile started all the birds to singing. She----" - -"Choseph!" She stamped the floor, much as Lentala had done, but a smile -fringed her frown. "You _know_ she made a fright of herself trying to -look like Annabel,--and with that ugly brown face!" - -"No, no, Beelo. The only trouble was that Lentala is too modest to -realize how splendidly perfect she is as Lentala." - -"But wasn't she still Lentala in those silly clothes?" - -"She was as much less Lentala as her effort to be something else -succeeded in making her." - -Beela looked puzzled exactly as Lentala had. - -"But her heart is broken!" she cried. "She says that you laughed at her, -and spoke in riddles!" - -"I laughed _with_ her, Beelo, not _at_ her; and the riddles were a bit -that I put in my mouth." - -"Why?" - -"The temptation to say beautiful things to Lentala that might sound -insincere is strong." - -She rose, with a confusion that was half amusement, and tried to hide -the light in her eyes. - -"Come, Choseph! There is much to do today." - -"I must see Lentala first." - -She could not mistake my seriousness. "Why?" in surprise. - -"I won't have her unhappy over that trifling incident. She is too -sensitive,--she misunderstood. I must see her, lad." I started for the -door. - -"Choseph!" came breathlessly. "Don't!" - -I turned. - -"Don't look at me that way!" she exclaimed in genuine alarm. Christopher -was moving round toward the door for which I had started. - -"What way?" - -"As though--as though you'd break down doors and kill anybody that -stood in your way!" - -"I want to see Lentala." - -"You can't! She--she's undressed. I'll tell her. She'll be satisfied." - -"Will you, lad? Thank you." - -She began making some preparations about the room. "You ought to be kept -tied, Choseph," she said, half to herself. "I never know what you are -going to do next." Yet a sweet note in her voice sounded low. - -She came and stood before me, looking me straight in the eyes. - -"I was going to give you and Christopher very delicate and important -work to do this morning, Choseph, but I'm afraid you'll do something -rash and ruin us all." - -I felt the sting. "Trust me, little brother." - -She shook her head in trouble. "You're not sly, Choseph; you're not -cunning and patient. Those are what are needed now. You have enough -courage." - -"Trust me, lad." - -"You are to meet King Rangan, Choseph, and you are to do everything that -he wishes you to do. You may think you ought not." - -"If you say that I ought, I will." - -"I do say so. If you refuse, or show temper, or do anything that a -Senatra wouldn't do, all is lost. Do you understand?" - -"I am not a fool, Beelo." - -"Choseph! That was temper." - -"Trust me, lad," I begged. - -"It is very dangerous work--terribly so if you make a mistake." - -"There will be no mistake." - -"The king is much broken. He is growing old, and the problem of the -colony is wearing on him. Choseph, will you think of him as kind and -gentle, and as meaning well?" - -"Yes." - -"And will you watch Christopher? Sometimes he understands more than you -or I." - -"I will." - -"Very well." Beela was much relieved. "Now I'll explain. The king -is failing rapidly. He needs such friends as you and Christopher, -and------" - -"Such friends as _we_, when he is holding us as fattening cattle?" - -"Choseph!" Beela's voice rang sharp, and she angrily stamped. Then came -a hopeless look. - -I took her hands. "Come, dear friend," I pleaded. "That was the last. I -am wholly in your hands. And remember, there is always Christopher." - -She turned away with a sigh, and began to put finishing touches to our -efforts at the restoration of neatness in the room. She was evidently -gathering herself, for presently she came and took a seat facing me, -Christopher standing. Her manner was serious. - -"This is the case," she said: "The king has meant always to be kind to -Lentala and me, and we are grateful. We love the queen dearly. We would -lay down our lives before permitting any harm to befall them." - -Her emotion made her pause. - -"Serious dangers are threatening them now,--more than they suspect,--and -these have come because of your people. Before that, only one or two -would be cast up from the wrecks. They gave no trouble." - -Horror came into her face, and she looked away. - -"I always supposed that they were sent off," she resumed. "Never once -did I suspect the truth until shortly before your party came, and then -my affection for the king died in me, and I was sick at heart. I don't -think the queen knows the truth to this day. I think the king would -have stopped it long ago, but for Gato, who wanted to use it to keep the -natives in savagery. He is a bad man, with great power. When your -large party came, he saw a way to break the king, stir the people to -rebellion, kill the king and queen, and take the throne himself." - -"Does Gato suspect that you know this about him?" I asked in -astonishment. - -"No. There is where our safety lies. I never should have suspected him -if he hadn't made love to Lentala and told her that if she would marry -him she would soon be queen,--the beast! Then we watched and found out." - -After a thoughtful pause she proceeded: - -"Gato is secretly stirring up the people. I have no doubt that he is -about ready to strike. His plan will be this, I think: The palace guard -are men whom he can trust to do his work; he will kill everybody here, -and then take the army into your valley and slaughter all but a few. He -will keep those for the sacrifices. It was he that induced the king to -use Mr. Vancouver as your traitor. But, unlike the king, he doesn't care -how many natives might be killed in a fight with the colony when he has -made himself king." - -She was regarding me curiously. - -"And what are Christopher and I to do?" I cheerfully asked. - -"Let me tell you some things before that," she answered, but with -hesitancy. "You won't be hurt with me, Choseph, and you won't be angry?" - -"Assuredly not, dear lad." - -"I told Captain Mason all these things when I went into the valley the -last time." She waited anxiously. - -"I am very glad of that," I brightly answered. - -She was much relieved, and with a sudden dash came over and squeezed my -hand. - -"You are really my dear big brother!" she said, and demurely resumed her -seat. "I told him something else," she went on with more confidence. "It -was to have his entire colony ready to move at a moment's notice,--not -to bring anything with them, except all the food they could carry, -but to be prepared at any time of the day or night to march in perfect -silence out of the valley." - -"To the ship!" I exclaimed. - -She smiled. "I advised him to pick some cool, trustworthy men to take -charge of the march." - -"He said------?" - -"That he already had his men chosen, and was glad that Hobart didn't -have to come out with me. He said it would be the making of Rawley to -come, and that you would understand." - -I did at last. There was something almost magical in Captain Mason's -ability to dig the manhood out of men. - -"And now for your work and Christopher's," resumed Beela. "I will take -you to the king as English-speaking natives from the mountains beyond -the valley on the west, which you have not seen. As I have told you, the -natives there are wilder and fiercer than these, have little intercourse -with them, and are largely independent. Their blood has mingled with -that of a few castaways, and they are brighter. On this side is the -ancient race, simple, gentle, dull. The king is proud of it, and wishes -to keep it pure. But he will welcome the other men in this emergency, -particularly if they speak English." - -"Has he full confidence in Gato?" I inquired. - -"I think he is growing suspicious." - -"And we?" - -"You are to be the king's confidential agents; to find out, -independently of Gato, all that is afoot; to be ready to protect the -king; and especially to treat with the colony if any trouble should rise -from that source. Is it all clear?" - -"Nearly. We are to guard the king and maintain his authority at any -cost?" - -Beela studied me uneasily. "Yes, at any cost," she slowly answered. - -"I was thinking of Gato," I explained. "We are to resort to any -measures with him, however extreme, if we have good reason to think them -necessary?" - -"Yes," somewhat anxiously. "What do you mean, Choseph?" - -"Anything that may be wise and prudent." - -She glanced down. She made no reply, but gave this warning, still not -looking up: - -"Take no chances with him. When you strike, which you must, sooner or -later, let the blow be swift and sure." - -"What will become of the army when he is out of the way?" - -The question troubled her. "It is very uncertain," she answered. "There -may be leaders under him who are in his confidence. They or one of them -may take command and lead the army against the palace." - -She sprang to her feet and glanced about. - -"Let's go to the king at once," she said. "Lentala told him about -you and promised to have you there by this time. I fear that Gato has -already returned with his report of the Face with its open mouth and -purple flame." - -"Just one thing, dear lad," I interrupted. "I wish to see Lentala -first." - -Her adaptability was as quick as a child's. The seriousness which she -had worn flashed into a teasing quirk of the mouth. - -"What for?" - -"You know very well." - -"Choseph," she said, solemnly wagging her head at me, "how can you think -of girls at such a time as this? Lentala would have too much sense to -see you now. Come with me to the king." - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII.--To the Rescue of the King. - -_Our Risky Audience With His Majesty. He Encoils Us in Allegiance. I -Open His Eyes. Gato's Scheme of Regicide. A Bold Act by Christopher._ - - -ON our way to the royal apartments, Beela again took us through the -vaults. I used the opportunity to fix in my memory the exact places -where the arms and ammunition from our vessel were kept. The king never -permitted any of his subjects to handle firearms. - -Hard by the vaults she showed us a dungeon. Not within her memory had -it been occupied, and few, even in the palace, knew of its existence. It -was an ingeniously designed prison, a grated window for ventilation and -a little light being so placed that no sound could reach the outside; -and the door was so deadened that no beating could make a noise. - -Anxious that none of the king's attendants should see her, Beela gave -us directions how to go and what to say and do if we were halted, -and slipped away, informing us that we might see her face at a small -curtained window high in the east wall of the room where the king would -receive us. - -One after another of the attendants whom we encountered on the way eyed -us curiously and, I thought, suspiciously, and put their heads together -after we had passed. One of them gave a low whistle; two came forward -from in front, stopped us, and demanded our identity and business. All -these men were armed. - -"The king expects us," was my curt answer; but more effective was our -cool assurance. - -Thus we arrived at the door, which was open, a soldier on guard. More -peremptorily than the others he demanded our names and errand. - -"The king expects us," I repeated, and was going within; but the fellow -laid a hand on me. I flung it off, and so confused him that we were -within before he could interfere. He mustered some briskness to follow, -but was too late, for the king had seen us. - -I was shocked at his appearance in the clearer light of day. At the -feast he had looked not far beyond his prime; his eyes were bright then, -and he bore himself with a commanding dignity. Now he was sinking into -decrepitude. - -"I have been expecting these men," he said, and the guard withdrew; but -I knew that he was slyly listening at the door. - -We made an obeisance. I caught a glimpse of Beela's encouraging face at -the window. - -The king was lounging on a divan; he had been talking with two elderly -men seated on rugs before him. They regarded us keenly as the king asked -them to withdraw. When they had gone, Christopher closed and locked the -door, and stood with his back to it. The surprised and curious scrutiny -of the king was on him, passing down his grotesque figure. From -Christopher he turned to me. - -"What do you wish?" he inquired. - -"To serve you, Sire." - -"How?" - -"Secretly, by finding out many things, by learning the truth; and in any -other way." - -"I have men for that." - -"You have Lentala also, Sire. She knows that you need us, and that we -will serve you intelligently, faithfully, and without fear." - -"Without fear of whom?" - -"Every one of account has enemies, Sire." - -"Have I any? I want no guessing." - -"We will find out." - -"Does Lentala know?" - -"Not positively, perhaps; but we all love her, and she has many ways -of learning, since she is not hedged about and kept in the dark as your -Majesty can be." The king was brightening; a faint eagerness crept into -his face. - -"Where did you learn to talk in that way?" - -"I don't understand your Majesty." - -"That inflexion. It isn't pure Senatra." - -"It is my misfortune, Sire. A long time ago a white man, an American, -escaped from the natives with the aid of a Senatra girl. She went with -him into the lonely mountains back of the village Sumanali. There -my brother," indicating Christopher, "and I were born. We speak our -father's language as well as our mother's." - -"English?" - -"Yes, Sire." - -"I meant something else, also, in your speech,--a quickness, a -nimbleness." - -"The white man was bright and keen, Sire." - -"What is your name?" he asked me. - -"Joseph, Sire." - -"And his?" - -"Christopher, Sire." - -"Those are not Senatra names." - -"Our father was an American, Sire." - -He put me through a further shrewd examination, and I answered readily. -It was having a slow but conspicuous effect in heartening him. I was -evidently a new and refreshing element, perhaps bringing hope. He -appeared satisfied, and asked: - -"Have you any suspicions?" - -"I have, your Majesty." - -"Of what? and of whom?" - -"Might it not be unjust, Sire, to express mere suspicions?" - -He reflected a moment, and asked: - -"Do you know Gato?" - -"Yes, Sire." - -"And the Black Face?" - -"Very well." - -"And the purple flame?" - -"Yes. I saw it two days ago." - -"Where?" asked he in excitement, sitting erect. - -"It was slipping along the top of the valley wall, near the Face." - -The king's perturbation increased, but he found no wavering of my eyes -under his sharp gaze. - -"More than that, Sire; my brother and I went into the river passage -through the wall. We saw the red fire and barely missed a great -explosion." - -The king's astonishment brought him to his feet. - -"Tell me more!" he demanded. - -I gave him an account of all that we had seen and endured, including the -flaming waterfall, the boiling cauldron, and the earthquake. - -"You dared that passage!" he exclaimed, looking from one to the other of -us in amazement. "It was the white blood. Not another man in the kingdom -would do it. Gato could not make any of his men go; yet I was anxious to -know." - -He was saying this partly to himself, as he aimlessly walked the floor. - -"Why did you go?" he abruptly asked. - -"We had heard that no one else was willing, and we wished to serve your -Majesty." - -The king's back being turned, I glanced up at the window. The curtain -parted for a moment, and Beela's beaming face nodded and smiled. - -"Yes," muttered the king in a profound disturbance, "it means that -an upheaval is at hand,--and a crisis!" He came and stood before me, -plumping this question at me: "Do you fear the Black Face, the flame, -and the earthquake?" - -"Not in the least, Sire," I smilingly answered. - -"All the others do." - -"Your Majesty has not forgotten that our father was white. He taught us -many wise things." - -He was smitten with a look that seemed to come from his conscience, and -sank with a groan into the divan. - -"Had I only been as true to my duty, and led my people to the light!" he -exclaimed. "Lentala begged me to. Now I must pay, I must pay!" - -I needed no recalling of my pledge to Beela, for pity held me. I looked -to the window, and the radiance coming thence lighted my wits. - -"There is always hope, Sire," I cheerfully said; "we can work and hope." - -He gave me a haggard look. "You know," he said, "the Senatras believe -that unless sacrifices are made of the white people in the valley there -will come no more wrecks and castaways, and that the Black Face will -therefore send the terrible earthquake and eruptions which frighten our -people into madness, sweep the island with fire, and destroy lives and -farms. But how can a sacrifice be made? The people think that to offer -up a madman would infuriate the Face and cause frightful disaster. It -is impossible to bring another white man from the valley, because -the colony would fight rather than give him up. Yet unless there is a -sacrifice the Senatras will rebel through fear of the Face, the army -will revolt, my palace will be seized, and the queen, Lentala and I, -with all our friends and servants, will be put to the sword." - -"A leader, who must be a traitor, would be required for that, your -Majesty. That would mean a man of eminence among us; and not that alone, -but one who has already laid his plans and is ready at this moment to -strike." - -The king was staring at me in terror. - -"You speak with a deep understanding," he huskily said, "and you have -more to tell me. Proceed." - -"Yes, Sire. The white people wish only to leave the island, and to go in -peace. They will do no harm if they are not opposed; if they are, they -will harm only those who oppose them." - -"How do you know?" - -"I speak with knowledge from my white father." - -"But if they are permitted to go, they will spread tales of great riches -here, and destroying ships and armies will come." - -"Permit me, Sire. In the first place, with such coadjutors as Lentala, -my brother and I, you could make the island impregnable. That would be -far wiser than the risk which you are now running, for the sea, even in -my father's time, was filling with ships, and the great countries were -hunting new possessions. At any time a ship may come without the aid of -the storms. She would see this large and beautiful island, and, though -driven off, would inform her own country, which would send vessels and -men to overwhelm us." - -"Yes, yes. But would it be possible for us to prepare defenses?" - -"It is our duty to do all that we can, Sire. But there can be an -additional protection. So long as we keep our present backwardness we -shall be deemed the rightful prey of any nation. If we aim to be more -like the great countries, and send ambassadors to them and make treaties -with them, they will protect us against one another." - -This mightily impressed the king. - -"That sounds reasonable," he said with a pitiful air of wisdom, "but it -may be attended to hereafter. We are facing a present crisis. You said -that a leader of an insurrection would be required." - -"Yes, Sire." - -"The army could put down any trouble." - -"With the army itself in revolt?" - -"But Gato's control of the army is powerful." - -"Yet it is on the edge of revolt. If Gato is all-powerful with his -men, and in spite of that fact says he can't control them,----But your -Majesty is abler than I to draw inferences." - -The king came nervously to his feet. - -"It is easy to understand, Sire," I went on, "that an ambitious and -unscrupulous man would see his opportunity when the people are paralyzed -with fear of the Face or with an outburst of its wrath." - -"Opportunity for what?" the king demanded. "What would he want, Sire? -Your throne would be a temptation, and so would Lentala to a man who -wanted a beautiful wife." - -The king gripped the edge of a table. - -"He asked me for her," the wretched man growled like a lion gnawing a -bone. "I refused him. She is very dear to me. I wanted her to have a -better man, of her own choosing. For I have provided that she is to rule -my people when I am gone." - -Though greatly surprised, I refrained from looking toward the window, -and kept silence while the broken man fought out his agony. When the -urgency of his situation had measurably restored him, he began to pace -the floor, and asked: - -"Something has to be done immediately. What would you suggest?" - -"What does your Majesty understand the case to be?" - -"We are on the eve of a revolution. The task is to check it." - -"Meanwhile, Sire, I observe that a score of Gato's soldiers are in the -palace. Is that customary?" - -The king stopped and turned a livid look on me. - -"No. Gato suggested that it would be safer to have them here for the -present as a protection." - -"Protection for whom, Sire?" - -The hint in the question swept the breath out of him, and he stood -staring. - -"I hadn't suspected----" he struggled for breath to begin. Then, "I see, -I see." - -The imminence of danger electrified his dormant forces. He hardened and -expanded, and fighting blood began to run in his veins. I said: - -"There is one thing more, your Majesty. The white people in the valley -are able, daring, and cunning. Already some of them have escaped and are -at large in the island." - -"Impossible!" he exclaimed in consternation. - -"I have seen them myself, Sire. They are perfectly disguised as -natives." A quick look at the window showed me a frightened but not a -reprimanding face. - -"You are positive?" - -"Absolutely, Sire." - -"How did they come out?" - -"Either by tricking Gato's men, or by connivance with some one, of -course." - -A rap at the door prevented further discussion. - -"That is Gato," the king whispered. "Hide there," pointing to a -curtained door in the rear wall. - -We were immediately concealed. The place was an anteroom. Through the -curtain we could hear and see everything. - -Gato entered. - -"What news?" the king inquired in a friendly, business-like fashion. - -"Everything is quiet, your Majesty." - -"How is the weather?" - -"It is beginning to clear." - -"Good! If the storm has made any wrecks, a castaway for the sacrifice -may drift ashore. That would restore order." - -Gato solemnly shook his head. The king reclined in silence, and then -asked: - -"How many soldiers have you in and about the palace?" - -The man was surprised. "Twenty, Sire," he hesitatingly answered. - -"Send them to the Council Chamber, and summon Lentala." - -"May I ask your Majesty----" - -Gato found a look that he was not accustomed to see. It was evident from -the slowness with which he proceeded to obey that he was alarmed and was -gaining time for new plans. - -Christopher and I stepped forth when Gato was gone. Beela exhibited some -fear, but I sent her a smile. - -"You," the king commanded me, "observe his manner with his men. You," to -Christopher, "follow him to Lentala and see that no harm befalls her; -I will show you a way. Don't let him see either of you. Come with me to -the Council Chamber immediately after the soldiers have assembled." - -Beela nodded to me, and dropped the curtain. The king led Christopher -into the anteroom, gave him hurried directions, opened a door leading -out of that room, dismissed Christopher, and returned. By this time I -was passing out, having observed that no one in the corridor was looking -toward me. - -Gato had formed his plan, and it contemplated swift execution, as I -judged from his prompt, incisive manner with his men. In each instance -he gave an order which I knew from the pantomime included the Council -Chamber; then, in the man's ear, he added something which brought -a start, a stiffening of the body, and an unconscious grip of the -sword-hilt. As the men were straggling past me to assemble, the king -leisurely strolled out into the corridor, and was sauntering beyond me, -when he stopped, turned, and asked under his voice: - -"What are the signs?" - -"He has ordered them to kill you in the Council Chamber at a sign from -him." - -"Umph!" The king passed on toward his living-apartments, which he -entered. - -When he came quietly walking back, the corridor was clear of soldiers. -He slipped a modern revolver into my hand. - -"Do you understand its use?" - -"Perfectly, Sire." - -"May I trust your nerve and judgment to use it at the right moment and -without missing?" - -"You may, Sire." - -"I think one shot will settle the matter. If - -"There will be three of us, your Majesty." - -He nodded, passed on, and turned back. He had become transformed, and -appeared to look forward eagerly to the crucial moment. - -"Gato ought to be here with Lentala by this time," he said. - -He walked slowly to the private audience-room, looked in, and strolled -back. Near me he stopped short, intently listening. - -"Did you hear that?" he asked. - -"No, Sire." - -"It sounded like the roar of an infuriated animal." - -His strolling began again, but with an increasing uneasiness. - -"I don't understand it," he said. At intervals he stopped and listened. -Finally he came back. - -"I sent for her," he explained, "to announce that she was heir-apparent -to the throne, and vested with present authority to take any measures in -this crisis that would seem proper in her discretion." - -I did not know before that my heart could be so touched by such a man. - -His impatience at last slipped control. "We will go and see what detains -them," he said. - -We started down the corridor. At his own apartments he paused to send a -servant to the Council Chamber with word that he would soon appear. We -had gone but a short distance beyond, when we met Christopher. - -"Is all well?" asked the king. - -"Yes, Sire." - -"Are Lentala and Gato coming?" - -"No, Sire." - -"Why not?" - -"He's in the dungeon, Sire." - -"In the dungeon! Locked up?" - -"Yes, Sire." - -"Who put him there?" - -"Me, Sire." - -"What for?" - -"Your Majesty told me not to let him harm her." - -"Harm her! Did he try to?" - -"I was there. She wants to see you." He turned to me. "And you, sir." - -We three hastened to her apartments, where we found her lying on a couch -and attended by a number of frightened women. - -"Lentala!" the king anxiously said; "what is the matter?" - -She forced a smile, held out one hand to the king and the other to me, -gave mine a quick, tight squeeze, released our hands, in a weak voice -bade us be seated, and with a wave of her hand dismissed the women. - -"What has happened, child?" the king insisted. - -"Gato came. I was alone. He didn't know that Christopher was behind -him." She was speaking with difficulty, often pausing. "He was -impatient. He said he loved me and wanted me. And if I wouldn't marry -him, he'd... he'd strangle me here and now.... That his men were waiting -in the Council Chamber to kill you, if I refused him, and then they -would kill the queen.... I said no. I trusted Christopher. Gato's -fingers hooked like that," she showed with her own hands, "his eyes -glared terribly, and he came at me.... Christopher crept up, said to -me, 'Don't scream,' and leaped on Gato. They grappled, and rolled on the -floor. Gato roared like a wild beast." Lentala covered her eyes with her -hands. "I heard things crack and break. I couldn't look. Then came an -awful squeak. Christopher said again to me, 'Don't scream.' It meant he -was safe. I felt myself falling.... When I saw again, I was lying on -this divan, and my women were with me. Gato was gone. Christopher was -standing in the door. I asked him where Gato was. He said, 'In the -dungeon.' He would say no more, and I sent him for you." She looked at -him, and added, "Dear old Christopher!" - -His face was blank. - -"Can I do anything for you?" the king gently asked. - -"No, thank you. I'm only a little shaken, and will be up in a few -minutes." - -"Would you like the queen to come?" - -"No. It would distress her. Not a word of this to her!" - -The king led us out. At the door I looked back and won a smile. - -We went in silence, and the king stepped into his apartments, bidding us -wait in the corridor a minute. - -I turned a keen look on Christopher, and he met it frankly. - -"Are you hurt?" I asked. - -"No, sir." - -"Is he badly injured?" - -"Him?" - -"Yes." - -"He don't need no doctor, sir." - -"Did he go with you quietly?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"He'll hang for this, Christopher." - -"Sir?" - -"The king will hang him for this." - -Christopher's gaze wandered vacantly round the corridor, and after a -while he quietly said: - -"It won't hurt him, sir." - -The truth blazed through me. I had been misled by Christopher's perfect -calm. - -"Christopher!" I cried, seizing his hand and wringing it; but he looked -bored. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX.--The Strength of the White Blood. - -_Extraordinary Discipline by the King. His Uneasiness Concerning -Our Loyalty. Lentala's Father. We Must Help Destroy Our Friends. -Earthquakes._ - - -ALTHOUGH the king was greatly shocked when I told him what had really -happened to Gato, his gratification quickly rose, and he regarded -Christopher curiously. - -"Why didn't you tell me at once?" he inquired. - -"That is not his way, Sire," I explained. "He avoids talking." - -"It was a wonderful thing to do," his Majesty mused as we slowly went to -the Council Chamber. - -Something had given him a fearful blow, and I guessed it was the danger -to which Lentala had been exposed. His face was haggard again; his gait -was unsteady; he doddered and mumbled. - -As we neared the Council Chamber, he said: - -"Come in and stand near me, one on either side." - -We found the soldiers in a huddle near the door, the racial dulness of -their faces somewhat keyed with expectancy. The king gave them but -a glance as he passed them and ascended the throne,--to be more -impressive, no doubt. Christopher and I stood as flanks. - -"Form a line facing me," the king sternly commanded. - -The soldiers glanced at one another in wonder as they obeyed, and -furtively had anxious eyes and ears for Gato. They were a fine crowd, -selected for courage and dash. - -"You understand," the king said, "that I am always in supreme command of -the army, including Gato and every other officer. Any person who may be -in immediate charge of you is serving as my agent, and is appointed and -removed by me at my pleasure. All your fealty and loyalty are for me. -You will now acknowledge that with an obeisance to your king." - -The rascals were dazed. They might send shifting glances down the line -if they liked, and wonder and waver if they pleased, but obey they must: -every man felt it in his bones. The line went down. - -Etiquette required the maintenance of the posture until the king gave -the word to rise. The obeisance consisted in coming to the knees, -resting the elbows, well advanced, on the floor, pressing the palms -down, and rooting the floor with the forehead,--an easy performance if -quickly finished, but a torturing one if sustained. On this occasion the -king neglected the releasing command; and that was unheard of. In such a -position the men could see nothing. - -"A soldier's first duty," he resumed, "is to his king. In becoming -a soldier he dedicates his manhood, his strength, his life, to his -sovereign; that is to say, to his country. A true soldier is glad to die -for the happiness and safety of his king. His duties are as sacred as -those of a son to his father. A worthy son will remember the protection -that his father has given him. If he hears him defamed, he will uphold -his name; if blind, will lead him; if threatened, will defend him though -death be the reward. So it is with a soldier and his king." - -His voice weighted his words with a deep emotion, and he spoke slowly, -with pauses. It was like listening to a passage from the Bible,--but -much better read than commonly. - -"A king may be kind to his soldiers; that will bring him their love with -their fealty, and give their duty a double force. A king may grow old -and stand in need of the strong, willing arms of young men whom he loves -and who love him. A king may totter under the burden of long service to -his people; his soldiers will then be his stay and comfort, and with joy -in their hearts will do his high will. Serpents may crawl in the weeds -about a king's throne: his soldiers will beat the weeds clear of them." - -The king could not have failed to see a painful writhing that wormed -through the line. His pause was long. - -"A son who hears even his brother speak ill of their father, will -reprove the brother and shame him. If that fails, he will chastise his -brother if he can; but if the brother is stronger, the dutiful one will -take the matter to their father, since the safeguard of the family is -endangered by the disaffection of a single member. If a father discovers -one of his sons jeopardizing the unity, prosperity, and safety of the -family, he will give the faithless son such treatment as the security of -the family demands." - -The pause this time was still longer. Meanwhile, the endurance of the -men had nearly reached an end. Whatever may have been their mental -state, their physical was one of excruciating pain. - -"Some men are induced to do wrong through heedlessness or blindness, not -knowing the gravity of their deeds, and not foreseeing a dire result. -Others are weak and easily led; they are untrustworthy tools of their -leaders, and shame is their greatest punishment. Others are cruel and -wicked at heart; they will therefore be ready to betray the men who led -them to betray others. All of those are poisonous serpents in the weeds -about a king's throne. And it is far worse in a soldier than in any one -else." - -After another pause, he said: - -"A king who is kind and wise will be slow to believe evil of his people. -It will be natural for him to think that all will be as wise and kind -as he. Yet he must be watchful; he cannot protect the people unless he -protects himself. If he finds a scandal, he may hide it, lest it weaken -the common faith in the strength and purity of his government. If he -discovers that any are unfaithful, he will not make their treason public -by hanging them before the people, unless he knows that a warning will -stop other traitors. No; he will be merciful and keep them privately for -a time, till they may walk forth erect in their recovered manhood." - -Here and there a gasp or a strangled groan broke the silence of the -line. The king was heeding. - -"The man at the right of the line will rise." - -The fellow came painfully to his feet, and stretched the agony out of -his muscles. - -"Advance and lay your sword on the dais," ordered the king. - -The man obeyed. - -"Return to your obeisance." - -A start thrilled the soldier. He gave the king a desperate, pleading -look, but found eyes with a cold sternness that sent him to obedience. - -"The next, rise." - -The performance was repeated with him, and with the rest in turn. - -"All rise," said the king. They stood up. "I will now take you to a room -in the palace, where you may consider in quiet what the soldiers of a -king should be. You," he ordered Christopher, "walk beside me at the -head, and you," to me, "follow the soldiers." - -The dignity of a mighty sorrow sat like a grace upon him as he slowly -led the procession. Never were prisoners more securely manacled with -steel than these men, though their members were free; and though there -was a certain pomp in the march, it was that of a funeral, and the -silence was louder than the blare of much brass. - -The king turned into the corridor that led to the vaults, and descended -the stair. This brought him and the others to the dungeon door. He -halted, and Christopher unlocked it. It swung wide. The king and -Christopher stood aside, and the men marched in. Christopher closed and -locked the door. - -"Your Majesty!" I exclaimed; "you surely have not forgotten that -Gato----" - -"My son," he calmly answered, "what they have already endured has made -the way easier to what they will find in there." - -Without haste the king conducted us back to the chamber in which he had -received us, and seated himself ered: on the divan. He was studying us. - -He inflated his cheeks and pursed his lips while his goggling eyes -roamed, and queer wrinkles came and went in his face. - -"The white blood," he grunted, staring at me. "It accounts for your -keenness. The white blood never sleeps. If it is with you, good; if -against you,------" - -He rose and glared. "Which love you the more, son," he growled, "the -white blood or the brown?" - -"Your Majesty sees our color. We came freely and offered our hearts, our -arms, and our lives to your Majesty. And it is not forgotten, Sire, that -Lentala sent us." - -"I remember." The growl died in him, and he brightened. With both hands -he clutched the edge of the couch. "It takes white blood to fight white -blood," he said. "Did your father tell you that?" - -"Not that I recall, Sire." - -"Black blood and red blood and yellow blood and brown blood always fall -before it, soon or late. He said nothing about that?" - -"I think not, Sire." - -"You know it is true?" - -"My father told me much of the great world." - -"Then he told you that. And I know. I saw it when I went abroad in my -youth. I learned it from Lentala's father. Does it mean anything to you -that your mother was a Senatra?" - -"It is sufficient that your Majesty and Lentala are Senatras." - -The king fixed a keen stare on me. - -"You mention Lentala very often," he said. - -"She indorsed us to your Majesty." - -"Something more is here. That is the white blood in her. In you and in -her the white blood knows its own." - -His sudden confirmation of my surmise concerning Lentala choked the -words in my throat. - -"Why don't you speak?" he roughly demanded. "Is it not true?" - -I could only gaze at him. - -"The white blood finds and knows its own," he went on. "Two hundred and -fifty of those with white blood are held on this island by a great horde -of those with brown blood. I need a man of the white-blood shrewdness -and boldness and courage to manage those two hundred and fifty to the -safety of my people and my island. But if I take a man with white blood -in his veins, it will side with the white blood that threatens me." - -"Would Lentala hand over to treason and destruction your Majesty and the -queen and all the other Senatras whom she loves, and the people to whom -she belongs and the country that has nourished her?" - -"Not wittingly, for she is a daughter of the gods; but the blood, my -son, the blood!" - -"Sire, a love early planted endures forever." - -He rose to fight his despair, and walked up and down the room. - -"Yes, it is true," he said at last. "Lentala has proved it. I spared -her father, a castaway, because he stopped a great plague that was -destroying my people. I myself was stricken, and he saved my life I -feared him because he was of the white blood, and because of his wisdom -and power. He held the secrets of the gods, and had no fear. I had -planted deep in my people a hatred of the white blood; and I required -that he not only disguise himself as a native, but remain within the -palace grounds. He taught me many things, but I refused to follow his -advice to instruct my subjects. He educated Lentala." - -"Is he still alive?" I asked. - -"He died two years ago. If he were only here now! We became strong -friends. Lentala's devotion to the islanders is returned by them almost -as idolatry. I know how the white blood can love, but I know also how it -can hate; and it knows its own." - -He suddenly halted, and wheeled upon me. - -"You say," he moaned, "that some of the white men are at large on the -island. What mischief are they doing? What mines digging under me? My -people are children,--I have kept them so, God help them! I need not -alone a wit and a daring to match the white people's, but Senatra -devotion as well." - -"Your Majesty knows Lentala." - -He blazed on me. "Do you love Lentala?" - -A fierce tingling raced through me, and dumbness held me. - -"She is beautiful and sweet," he went on. "She is steadfast; she is -brave and able. There never was a woman to match her. You are big and -strong and brave. She found you. Like finds like. Do you love her as a -man loves a woman?" - -I fought blindly for wit and words. - -"Yes, Sire," came the thin, even voice of Christopher. - -We both turned in surprise. He beamed on us blandly. - -"Does she love him as a woman loves a man?" the king asked him. - -"Yes, Sire." - -His audacity held me speechless. - -"I can trust her--and you," the king said to me,--"so far as blood -tempered by love and loyalty may be trusted, which is farther than it -may trust itself. I am old and broken. Come, you two, and stand before -me." - -We obeyed, I wondering. - -"I have no other men to equal you, and I need you. You must serve -me. Take time now, and remember your white blood. Remember that it is -stronger than your brown, for I have seen its dominance in you today. -Remember that when your allegiance is tested in a choice between white -blood and brown, the white will be the stronger. Only one thing can save -you and me and all my people." - -"And that, Sire,-----?" - -"-----is your manly pride to see and know and overcome your white blood, -and serve and obey your king to the end." - -He paused, and looked from one to the other, as though expecting us to -speak, but we were silent. - -"The white blood," he passionately resumed, "is the most terrible thing -in the world. It is strong and shrewd; it never gives up; it pursues and -fights relentlessly to the ends of the earth; without mercy or pity it -hunts down, plunders, overwhelms, exterminates. Only one thing can hold -it in check, and that is opposing white blood. Brown blood cannot cope -with the white people in the valley, but white blood can; and for the -task, the gods have sent me white blood mingled with brown seeded in my -soil and grown to it with deep roots. That is my hope and trust." - -His gaze of affectionate yearning was on us. - -"The duty of your Senatra blood is loyalty to your king; the task of -your white blood is to outwit and outdo the people in the valley. I will -place Lentala in command of the army. You must not take a step without -her full concurrence, and you will obey her without question. Do you -agree?" - -"Gladly, Sire." - -"A hundred soldiers guard the passes from the val ley, and are relieved -every day. When not on duty they attend to their private affairs. I -will at once send out messengers summoning these to assemble outside the -palace wall, in the king's highway passing the main gate. There I will -address them and turn over the command to Lentala." - -He was profoundly studying me. His words, "to outwit and outdo the -people in the valley," were grinding within me, and I longed to demand -an explanation. A savage ferocity was manifest through his benignity. -To outwit and outdo the people in the valley,--my people, my friends! I -would be his tool to betray and destroy them. The bottomless pit should -have him first, and the hand that he would turn to treachery and murder -would send him thither. - -My face must have shown something of what I tried to conceal; for the -king, his look growing desperate and malignant, stepped back a pace. -There came from somewhere a sharp rap, which made me start, and sent my -glance to the curtained window, to which the king had his back. I had -supposed that Beela was with Lentala; but there she was at the window, -her hand upraised in warning. It brought me instant control. - -The king also had heard, and looked round sharply, but the curtain was -down. - -"What was that?" he inquired. - -"My big toe, Sire," answered Christopher. - -"What did you do with it?" - -"I cracked the joint." - -"Why?" - -"It feels good, Sire." - -His Majesty curiously regarded Christopher's feet. "It must be a large -joint," he said. - -Christopher stood in gentle silence. The king turned to me, and found me -docile. - -"That look of rebellion was the white blood in you," he said. - -"Only for a moment. Your Majesty may trust me." - -Nevertheless, he was troubled, and shook his head. - -"He won't no more, Sire," said Christopher. - -"How do you know?" - -"I know him." - -"Explain." - -"He does little things short and big things long." - -My amused smile was fortunate, because it put an end to the king's -tragic gravity. - -"I am satisfied," he remarked. "Now, the first thing for you two to -do, while the army is assembling, is to go out, find, and bring to the -palace all the white men that have escaped. The next,------" - -The sentence was never concluded, for there came a rumble and a sharp, -pervading jolt. The king stiffened, looked about in fear, and groped for -the table. Following was a gentle quiver, which rapidly increased till -it became an oscillation, and with it a deep rumbling. It ended in a -mighty wrench and a violent swaying, accompanied with a hoarse explosive -sound. The stones of the palace were grinding and groaning. The table -slid a yard, stopped, and shot back as the king tried to seize it. - -I found myself plunging and lurching for a footing as the oscillation -continued, and so were the king and Christopher. They sat down on -the floor. Surely the violence would ease in a moment. Instead, the -convulsion rose to a fearful crash, which sent my feet away and my body -smashing on Christopher. He caught me with one hand and with the other -diverted the flying table from the king. - -The spasm ended abruptly, but the menacing tremble was again in play. - -"Be careful!" rasped the king; "the third is the worst." - -As before, the quiver rose through oscillation to a heavy swaying, more -violent than ever, and ended in a tumult of jerks, which sent us sliding -and scrambling as we fought the portable things that were hurled about -the room. - -It was suddenly gone. We rose, much dazed. There was no sign of Beela at -the window. - -"It is over," weakly said the king. "The worst in many years. And what -has it done? It has terrified my people into madness. I see them." -He was losing self-control, and was staring as at a vision. "They are -beginning to rise from the ground. Many are digging out of their ruined -huts.... Their teeth are chattering. They look at one another in -horror. No one has a sister, a brother, a father, a mother, a friend. -All are blind and mad.... They run hither and thither. They----" - -A confused screech and roar, as of wild animals driven to a focus by a -surrounding forest fire, rang through the closed door of the room. The -king listened. - -"The palace servants," he mumbled through quivering lips. "They are -seeking me--their father and protestor. Imagine from this how the island -is swarming and groaning, and with a terror that is half vengeance." - -The man was beside himself. - -"Peace, Sire!" I begged, but he did not hear. - -"The terror does not abate: it increases with the freer flow of their -blood after the shock.... They are beginning to think. They look at one -another and see their kind; then kindred and friends.... 'The Black -Face!' says one, softly. 'Ay, the Black Face!' is the louder reply." - -The king stood with clasped hands and closed eyes. - -"'This is only the beginning,' they say. 'The Black Face has been denied -while it looked down on abundance.' Who has denied it? The heavens -ring with the answer, 'Our father whom we loved, our protector whom we -trusted, our king whom we have thought a brother of the gods. Why has -he flouted the Face and challenged its wrath? What terrors or witcheries -have been wrought by the gods of the people in the valley, that our king -has gone driveling behind his walls? '" - -"Your Majesty!" I called, shaking him by the arm. - -He opened glazed eyes, and listened to the howling din at his door. - -"The guard are leaving the passes. The white people are wise; they -understand, and are joyful. They send scouts.... My soldiers mingle -with my roaring, mobbing people. They all push and roll through the -pools of rain-water in the highways, churning them to mud. They grind -their teeth; they laugh horribly, like imbeciles. The palace is their -aim, and their king sits grinning and mumbling there. All the trouble -has come from the people in the valley. The white blood breeds all there -is of that in the world. May ten thousand curses fall on it!" - -He was flinging his arms and lunging about. I woke to the urgency -of action, for undoubtedly in his madness he had correctly seen the -turbulence in the island, and the sweating hordes plunging over all -roads converging to the palace. A glance passed between Christopher -and me, and I nodded toward the door, which a packed, howling mass was -already straining. - -"Come," I said, seizing the tottering king about the waist and dragging -him to the anteroom. I thrust him within, and secured the door back of -the curtain. - -When I turned, Christopher, his hand on the key of the door into the -corridor, was listening. There was no sign of Beela at the window. - -"What's going on?" I inquired. - -"Her, sir." - -"She's out there?" I asked in alarm. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Open the door," I ordered, stepping back to guard the anteroom. - -He opened it, swinging behind it against the wall. - -It was done so suddenly that those pressed against it fell into the -room. The next came tumbling on them, and more on these, squeezing -horrible sounds from the mouths of the lowermost, and bringing -unpleasant grimaces to their faces. In a second the opening was jammed -half way to the top, and still the pile grew. Behind it were frenzied -men and women, vociferating prodigiously, and fighting for the -diminishing passage to the king. - -The pressure outside being somewhat relieved, one of the more agile men -leaped on the pile and sprang with a howl to the floor; but Christopher -had emerged, and a blow from him dropped the adventurer. The next, less -active than the first, was scrambling over the heap, and paused as he -found himself grazed by the flying body of the first, for Christopher -had picked him up and tossed him over the heap into the pandemonium -beyond. The following man drew back, and slid down to the corridor -floor. - -I had been looking for Beela without, but she was not in range. - -Before another maniac could mount the pile, Christopher had dragged -a body off the squirming mass and flung it out. Another followed, and -another, and others, the succession of them so close that none dared -breast the fusillade. Christopher streamed with sweat, and the mildness -in his eyes had become a glare. - -All this had a cooling effect in the corridor. Christopher, not waiting -to look for cracked ribs at the bottom of the heap, cleared the last -away, and walked forth. None can say how much his unearthly pale eyes, -minatory expression, and extraordinary figure had to do with what -followed. I went to the door. A hush fell as he advanced on the mob, -which fell back in silent terror. With each hand he seized a man, jammed -their heads together with a murderous thwack, shook them, stood them up, -left them stunned, and immediately snatched two others and treated them -similarly. A third pair and a fourth nursed aching skulls. Christopher -swept through the groups with two long, strong arms for scythes, mowing -a wide swath as he brushed women along, sent a man spinning from a blow, -dashed another against the wall, and brought them into subjugation with -a counter-panic of his own manufacture. He came upon two men with some -appearance of character, and ordered them to finish the work and send -the people to their quarters. They obeyed him promptly. At last he -sauntered back to me, calm but puffing. - -Beela approached from the opposite direction. I stepped forward in -gladness to meet her. - - - - -CHAPTER XX.--A Habit of Concealment. - -_Beela Undergoes a Transformation. The Uprising of the People. -Contrition of Beela. I Declare Myself. An Amazing Disclosure by the -King._ - - -WHAT news, my friend?" I cheerily inquired. - -"We'll go to the king's reception-room and talk," she answered, looking -at Christopher. "Dear old Christopher!" she said, deep and sweet. - -"Yes," I remarked; "I left the king in the anteroom." Christopher and I -followed her into the reception-room. - -"He's not there now," she replied, seating herself, "but with the -queen. Christopher, go and stand down the corridor, opposite the queen's -apartments, and wait for the king. Those lunatics may break loose again -when they hear the mob outside the wall." - -He started. - -"Christopher!" she called. He turned. "Do you love me?" - -"Yes, ma'am." - -"That's all." - -I had never seen her so calm and steady, so rich in ultimate qualities, -so little the volatile, meteoric, yet wise child-woman who had been -my sunshine, my tease, my playfellow. She had become a composed and -gracious woman. It came to me with something like pain that this was the -truer and finer Beela. There was another feeling,--one of a great need -in my life. - -She wore a becoming dress that might have suited either a woman or a -man; but everything about her spoke of the sweetness and grace that only -a lovely woman can have. I was tired of the foolish Beelo sham. We had -grown too near for me longer to tolerate that absurd barrier. - -"Now for your news, dear Beela," I asked. - -There was the slightest start when she heard that pronunciation of the -name, but she did not turn to me at once. - -"When the earthquake began," she said, "I ran to the queen, for such -things frighten her dreadfully. After it was over there came the uproar -by the servants. I locked the queen's apartments and kept them out. -But their noise frightened her even more than the earthquake, for they -battered her doors. It wouldn't do to admit them. Presently the king -came by the private entrance, and although he was badly shaken, the -necessity to comfort the queen brought him composure. They are together -and quiet now. Then I came to this corridor, where the servants were -massed against the door. I could do nothing with them. For a moment I -was frightened when the door opened, but when I saw what Christopher's -plan was, I knew that all was safe. I went then and secured the gates -opening to the palace grounds." - -"And what's ahead, Beela?" - -"The worst," she quietly answered, but gave me a slow, mischievous look -over that repetition of her feminine name. "We have a little time before -the king comes," she brightly added, "and we need it to rest." There was -a challenge in her glance. - -"But the mob is coming!" I protested. - -"The king told me that you and Christopher and I should be quiet till it -assembles. Then he will come, for you." - -I drew up my stool facing her, took both her hands, and said: - -"I have a confession to make, dear friend." - -"Really, Joseph?" she exclaimed in mock alarm, pronouncing the name -perfectly. - -"You know. And you've been only pretending that English wasn't perfectly -familiar to you." - -She gave a musical, purring little laugh. Any man would deserve great -credit for self-restraint in resisting it--and the chin. Thenceforward -she spoke in English of the purest accent. - -"What's the confession, Joseph?" - -"I've known something for a long time, Beela, and I've been deceiving -you with thinking that I didn't know; but I did so because you evidently -wished me to be deceived. Everything might have gone wrong if I had -betrayed my knowledge to you. But it has served its time. You will -forgive me for deceiving you,--dear?" - -All that went to make her a miracle of precious womanhood was vibrant. -There was the same sweet flutter that I had seen before in her velvety -throat. Of course she enjoyed her little triumph of knowing that even -for a time her deception had prospered, and she was a-thrill with the -recollection of it. After that came contrition. A half-smile lingered on -her lips, though her eyes were rueful. - -"You are good and generous, Joseph, for not giving me a chiding word; -and I don't think there is the least of it in your big heart." - -"Chiding, sweet girl? I understood your feeling for the necessity of the -deception. Your wish is my law, and to serve it is less a duty than a -privilege." - -There was a slight puzzle in the glow that flooded her heavenly eyes. - -"You found it out all by yourself, Joseph?" - -"Yes, dear." - -"That is remarkable. Neither Christopher nor Annabel gave you the -smallest hint? They knew." - -"Not the smallest." The hurt of their keeping the secret from me must -have shown in my face, for Beela laughed teasingly. It restored me. -"You pledged Annabel not to tell me," I said, "and Christopher is -silent,--and a gentleman. Is that the explanation?" - -"Yes." A soft embarrassment crept over her, and she gently withdrew her -hands and sat regarding me in sweet content. "I also have a confession -to make, Joseph." She tried hard to look just a trifle anxious. "What, -dear?" - -"Joseph!" she cried, frowning and stamping; "how can I think when _that_ -is in your eyes and your voice! I won't look, and I won't listen." She -turned her shoulder to me. - -"What is in my eyes and my voice, dear?" - -She sat still a moment, and then slowly turned her head a trifle and -peered at me as if baffled. - -"You mustn't tease me, Joseph." - -She saw my smile and again turned away. - -"What is the confession?" I asked. - -"Let's go back to the beginning. There were two real reasons why I posed -as a boy. One was that it gave me more freedom of limb for going through -the forest and for scaling the valley wall, and the other was that it -made me less conspicuous to the guards,--I could have escaped if they -had detected me. On my word, dear Joseph, I never intended to deceive -you long about that." - -She cautiously looked round at me, for I was silent. A cheap resentment -at learning that I had been unnecessarily tricked must have betrayed -itself, for the dear girl took my hands. - -"Joseph,------" she began. - -"Then why did you keep it up, dear?" I asked. - -"Joseph, the time was when your want of perception was mistaken by me -for dulness, for obtuseness,--for such a lack of understanding as makes -a man or a woman not worth while. But I discovered that it was not -dulness at all. For a time I refused to believe that a human being could -have what I saw in you." - -If I have ever seen wondering fondness it was in her eyes. - -"What was it, dear?" I asked uneasily. - -"Your trust which sees only the true, and, unwittingly taking into your -heart the false with the true, makes the false true with your trust." - -I was silent with the deep thankfulness that God had sent such a woman -into the world and into my meager life. - -"So, Joseph, I prolonged that deception until all doubt of what you are -was gone. I am glad that I did, and am sorry that I can think of no more -tests." There was a dash of her dear mischief in that speech. "And now -that this is a time of confession and understanding,--you started it, -remember,--I must say that one of the deceptions played on you------They -were really harmless, weren't they, dear Joseph?" - -"Perfectly," I smiled. - -"----that one of them was unnecessary. It was _such_ fun to play those -pranks on you, Joseph! I couldn't help it. I know it was wicked, but you -were always gentle and kind, and I knew you would forgive me. Joseph, -you would forgive me _anything_, wouldn't you?" - -"Yes, dear heart." - -"It was delicious to see you walking so trustingly through the -complications that beset you." - -"Dear!" I cried, my senses afloat and my arms aching for her; "I am only -human. Your sweetness----" - -She pushed back her chair before my advance. - -"And you don't know in the least," she went flying on, "how often I had -to leap from one of my selves to the other, and how exciting it was." - -I was getting little out of her chatter except the music of her voice -and the picture of loveliness that she made. - -"Don't you care to know which of the deceptions was unnecessary?" she -demanded, trying to look injured. - -"Indeed I do." - -She came and stood beside me, gazing down into my face and clasping my -hand warmly in both her own. - -"Beela," she answered. - -"Beela?" after a mystified pause; then, thinking that she was teasing, I -laughed. - -She appeared much relieved, and brightly said: "I'm glad you understand -and forgive me.... But you resented her at first." - -"Beelo had become very precious, dear, and so my readjustments where you -are concerned are slow. But a new fondness grew with Beela's coming." - -"Poor Joseph! And _she_ wasn't necessary. I am sorry now that I----" - -"_She?_ Who?" - -"Beela." - -I was a little taken aback, but came to my feet with a dazzling -consciousness that all the glories of earth were packed into this -moment. - -"Not at first, dear," I said, "but in time she became more necessary -than my life. My heart sits in gratitude at Lentala's feet for sending -me her sweet sister." - -She was stricken into a statue, and was staring at me as at some strange -creature from another planet. - -I stood in silent misery. How had I hurt her? - -She took a turn of the room, and flung herself on her knees at the -couch, buried her face in her arms, and went into laughter mingled with -sobs. I seated myself on the couch and laid a caressing hand on her -head. - -"Beela," I pleaded, "forgive me. Let me know what I have done that hurt -you." - -"No," she cried. "I wouldn't for all the world! My heart is breaking -with gladness!" - -Surely no other mortal could have put such startling contradictions into -so few words. My hand found hers; she caught it tight. - -"You dear old Joseph!" she said. "Choseph, Choseph!" - -It was plainly hysteria; the brave soul had been on a breaking strain -too long. I drew her to me, bent her head to my shoulder, and pressed my -cheek to hers. - -"Dear heart!" I said. - -She made no resistance, and gradually grew quiet. - -"Sweet," I went on, "we have been through many trials together, and -there are more ahead. The days were dark till Beelo came. He stole into -my heart with hope, courage, and love. A shock came when he passed. I -don't know, but perhaps I never should have loved you but for him. He -was the sunny highway leading to you; and now I have the daring to lay -my love and my life at your feet." - -The sigh that drifted through her parted lips had no threat for my -anxiety, but she did not answer. Her hand gently drew mine down from her -cheek, and she rose. She studied me a moment. - -"Let's talk, Joseph. Perhaps we have been hasty." I noted the patient -weariness in her voice. She sat beside me, and after a short silence -resumed: "I have never loved a man till------It hasn't been possible -here. But you have known beautiful, lovely women." - -"Yes." - -"And liked them very much." - -"Very much." - -Her glance fell, and a little quiver crossed her lips. - -"You have known Annabel a long time. You were close to her; you and she -talked long and often." - -"Yes." - -"She is beautiful and sweet." - -"Exceptionally so." - -"And accomplished--and gracious--and has good manners and a velvet -voice." - -"All of that." - -"And she's kind--and gentle--and has high principles." - -"True." - -"She belongs to your people, your world." - -I only smiled. - -"Joseph," raising her sad eyes to mine, "you have loved her once, and -now love me?" - -"I have never loved Annabel, dear heart, but I do love you." - -"Why haven't you loved her? How could you help it?" - -"Because I was waiting for you." - -"You have never told her that you loved her?" - -"No. But, dear Beela, I can't discuss Annabel in this way." - -Her eyes blazed. "She loves you!" - -"That is not true; and no one has the right to say such a thing of a -woman without knowing that her love is returned." - -Beela bit her lip, and came stiffly to her feet. - -"You are unkind!" she exclaimed. "I have a right--a woman's right--to -reasons for believing what is incredible without them." - -The picture of outraged dignity that she made was so ravishing that I -feared my adoration would override the sternness which I had taken so -much trouble to set in my face. - -"What is incredible, dear?" - -She impatiently turned away. I think she did it to hide a smile, but -she was too wary to answer. Instead, she drew from her bosom the little -toilet case I had given Lentala on the day of the feast, and gravely -examined her reflection. - -"If I were beautiful like Annabel,------" she began. - -"Beela!" - -"------or Lentala, and------" - -"Beela!" - -"------and were pink and white------" - -"Beela!" - -She made exactly such a face at herself in the mirror as Lentala had, and -suddenly turned on me. - -"Joseph, Lentala used to be beautiful and good and true, and an angel." - -"She is all of that yet." - -She returned the case to her bosom. - -"I think you nearly loved her once." - -My tongue was silent. Beela laughed mischievously; little devils were -dancing in her eyes. - -"Joseph, I'm serious. Reflect because it wouldn't be wise to act hastily -now and suffer for the rest of life. Annabel would make a perfect wife. -She would play no pranks and childish deceptions. You understand her and -she knows you. I'm only a wild, uncouth savage." - -"Anything more, dear?" I wearily asked. - -She gathered breath to resume: "And there's Lentala. She is to be a -queen some day, and very rich. With rank and wealth, she would be a -shining woman in America, and her husband would be the happiest man in -the world; for with all of that he would have the far richer treasure of -her love." - -"A worthy man will come to her some day, Beela." - -"Didn't you think she was--was fascinating?" - -"I do think so." - -"Reflect again, Joseph: Would you prefer her poor, obscure, wild little -sister?" - -"Yes. But what right have we to make so free with Lentala's name, -especially as she is foreign to the matter?" - -Again Beela was offended, but she controlled herself. - -"You would be ashamed of me with people of your kind." - -"You alone are of my kind, dear Beela; and shame for you would be shame -for myself, shame for all that is precious to me." - -"Suppose, Joseph, that I should refuse to leave this island." - -"The highest privilege of my life would be to stay here with you." - -She stood in a melting happiness. - -Her rosy mouth was conveniently near. I should have been a fool to let -the opportunity pass, and she was not on her guard. She drew back too -late. The dignity with which she came to her feet had a new tenderness. -I also rose. She gazed at me with a wistfulness that searched all -the hidden places in my soul. Never had she been so lovely as in this -moment. - -"Dear Joseph, take more time. There is something... you don't know, -though I... thought you understood. Now I dare not------A great fear -fills me." - -"Love knows no fear, sweetheart." - -"Not for itself, but for its loved ones. Joseph, will you forgive me? -It was a foolish thing to do, and I am very, very sorry. Your trust has -shamed me. Dear Joseph, I------But first let me tell you something else. -The colony must now be marching out of the valley, for I told Captain -Mason that a severe earthquake would be his signal for starting at once. -Annabel is coming, and------" - -The door opened to the king and Christopher. His Majesty, anxious and -broken though he was, gave us an approving smile,--perhaps from what he -read in our faces. - -"My maddened people are gathering," he said. "It was wise of you to -lock the gates, my child. When the crowd grows larger it will begin an -assault. That will be the time for me to appear. I will call out the -soldiers from the crowd and put them under your command." - -That surprised me. "Pardon me, Sire. I understood your Majesty to say an -hour ago that _Lentala_ was to have command." - -"So I did." - -"But your Majesty has just said that _Beela_ is to have it." - -"Beela? I couldn't have said that, as I don't know any such person." - -I was dismayed at the king's apparent condition, and Beela in great -perturbation was trying to speak. The man must be roused from his shaken -state. - -"This is Beela, Sire, Lentala's sister." - -"She has no sister," he answered clearly, and turned sharply on Beela. -"Lentala, have you been playing one of your pranks?" He hurried her away -as she was trying to speak. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI--Both Sides of the Wall. - -_A Mob at the Palace Gate. What the King Heard Through the Wall. -Lentala's Call on Christopher to Save Her. The King Abdicates. Long Live -the Queen!_ - - -HABIT is the strongest force in animate nature. Though I was shaken, -the bent of an urgent purpose remained, and I went forward to it with -all the will at my command. - -The roar of a mob--that most horrible of sounds--smote my hearing when -Christopher and I emerged from the palace into the grounds. A turn in a -broad, curving walk through the trees brought the barred main gate into -view. It was a massive affair of wood, iron, and bolts, with a small -wicket, which was closed. - -The king, all alone, wearing his crown and his cloak of state, was -awaiting us near the gate. He beckoned us to raise a ladder to the wall. -It was done. - -"I will presently go up alone," he said, calm but sad, "and will talk -to them. Men have gone for a heavy beam with which to ram the gate. -The crowd is densely packed here. That will make an attack on the gate -impossible for a time. It is likely that the soldiers will assemble and -clear a working space." - -"What can we do, Sire?" I asked. - -"Nothing now. The most that I can hope for is to hold the situation -until Lentala returns." - -"She has gone?" - -"Yes. It was something about the white people. I couldn't keep her. She -was confident we could hold the mob." - -"And your Majesty's plan------?" - -"I will show myself on the wall, and talk to them. At the proper moment -I will call you up. If I am stricken down, you and your brother retreat -to the palace. Defend it by any means and at any cost." - -His sorrow was too great to be companioned by fear, and it bore an -impressive dignity which his haggardness intensified. - -"The mob is swelling rapidly," he said with perfect quiet. "Unless a -diversion happens soon, many will be crushed against the gate and the -wall." - -Seeing that he stood inactive, I wondered whether he was so numbed as to -be incapacitated; but he cleared the doubt. - -"If the beam-carriers force their way through the mass, many will be -maimed or killed. I am listening to the sounds." - -His coolness and clearness were remarkable. Christopher, unruffled, was -studying our surroundings. - -"There come the beam-carriers," said the king. "They are much excited, -and are not working smoothly together.... One fell then; he was -stepped on and hurt.... Now they are forging ahead. They are blindly -ramming the mass before them.... A woman is hurt." - -The king's back was to the ladder and the wall. He was gazing into -space behind me, listening."... Hark! Yes, that is he,--one of Gato's -captains, a big, strong man, with a great voice. He has just arrived, -fighting his way through the crowd, and calling the soldiers, telling -them that I have murdered Gato. I have been kind to this man. On the -chance of Gato's being out of the way, he sees his opportunity to step -into his leader's shoes, carry out his plan, and usurp the throne.... -The soldiers are rallying. They fight ruthlessly for passage to the -captain.... It is bungling, cruel work." - -"Isn't this the moment for you to appear, Sire?" We had to shout. - -"No." - -"Let me go up." - -"No." He was firm as well as calm. "Wait. The soldiers are unwittingly -preparing my moment. I have partisans as well as enemies there. If I -showed myself now, it would increase the frenzy. My friends and enemies -would at once begin a fight of factions. They could not, would not, hear -my voice. I will let the soldiers clear the way." - -We waited. - -"Why don't they scale the wall, Sire?" - -"That will come later,--by the soldiers." - -He stood listening. That was trying to my mercurial nature, and almost -a mad desire to be over the wall in the thick of the melee was straining -within me. - -The king produced a key, handed it to me, and composedly said: - -"That opens the vault containing the cargo from the white people's -vessel, including the arms. If I fall, you and your brother will know -what to do in defending the palace. But don't be hasty. Be merciful -if you can. This outbreak will not last long. Violent earthquakes are -likely to come again at any moment, and the red fire and purple flame on -the summit make me think that there may be a volcanic eruption." - -"What will happen then?" - -"The white people will seize the opportunity to escape from the -valley,--if they have not already started. That would mean the -annihilation of the entire party, for all the Senatras, including the -army, would fall upon them. Then my people would be satisfied, and order -would be restored." - -My respect for his insight gave his words a crushing force. But what did -it mean that Lentala had told Captain Mason to bring the colony out? - -I was moving toward the ladder under an impulse to be in action, but a -firm grasp fell on my arm. An apologetic look of warning reminded me -that Christopher never slept when a beloved one was in danger. - -The king had noticed nothing, so deeply absorbed was he. A puzzle was -sharpening his senses and wrinkling his brow. - -"I don't understand that," he said. - -"What, Sire?" - -"I wish I knew that Lentala was safe." - -"How could she be in danger, your Majesty?" - -"Her white blood. It makes her too daring." He was looking about, but -his attitude of concentrated listening returned. "There it is again!" he -exclaimed. - -"What, your Majesty?" - -He did not answer for a while; then, "Do you hear that?" - -"Yes." - -"It is a new trouble. It started on the outskirts of the mob, and is -drawing nearer.... I can't make it out." - -He was at the highest pitch of alertness, and was silent for a time. - -"Don't you hear the voice? That is no Senatra! His cries--don't you hear -them, man?... The people are falling away from him in terror.... Don't -you hear?" - -"Yes, Sire." - -"They are crying, 'A demon sent by the Black Face! He will take our -children, and the hungry Face will devour them!' Don't you hear that?" - -"Something of it, Sire." - -"The people are stricken with fear.... The women are fighting to -escape. Don't you hear their screams?" - -"Yes, Sire. Isn't it time to mount the wall?" - -"No. There is no foreseeing what this diversion will accomplish." - -There was a pause. - -"He is advancing toward the gate, bellowing. Surely you hear him?" - -"Yes, Sire." My heart bounded, for I recognized the voice. - -"He is crying in English, 'They brought me out to eat me!' He thinks we -are cannibals!" exclaimed the king, aghast. - -"All the white people in the valley think so, your Majesty." - -He blazed with resentment, but his attention was again concentrated on -the proceedings without. - -"He is calling me the chief of the cannibals," resumed the king, "and -is fighting his way to the gate. He shouts that he must be the first to -enter, and that he will find me and strangle me.... He is a maniac. -The natives have a horror of that malady. The noise is subsiding. Don't -you notice?" - -"Yes, Sire; and now I will rescue the madman." - -I started for the ladder, but with a fierce grip the king withheld me. - -"Would you be a fool and spoil everything?" he shouted in a sudden fury. - -He was again composed and listening. "Wonderful!" he said. "Some of the -men, seeing how easily he clears the way, are hailing him as a leader. -They are not the soldiers.... The beam-bearers are advancing again, -for the madman is opening a passage. They carry the beam on their -shoulders.... They are gradually approaching the gate. Don't you hear -the lunatic shouting?" - -"Yes, Sire." - -"A considerable body of soldiers must be massed at the gate, awaiting -the bearers, but they are silent. They must be consulting what to do. -They are drawing their swords." - -"Sire!" I cried; "I won't let that happen." - -"Wait," he peremptorily commanded. "What is that?" He was listening more -breathlessly than before. "Strange!... Strange!... It-----" - -"What is it?" I demanded in a rage of impatience. - -"I don't understand," he resumed after a pause. "What can make it? There -is no earthquake. Did you feel one?" - -"No, Sire. But I can't------" - -"Wait." His clutch was on my arm. "Surely it can't be the white people -from the valley!" - -He reeled, and I seized the instant to spring upon the ladder. But I had -forgotten Christopher. He turned me round to face the king. - -The stricken monarch was standing in a tenseness sprung from unnamable -fears. But he started as something new fell on his hearing. - -"No," he said, "not they. Something else. They are growing more -quiet.... It is a woman.... They are hailing her. She speaks. Don't you -hear her voice?" - -I could hear only a blur of noises. - -"She is shaming the women.... And sending them away.... She is my -friend!... Do you know the voice?" He seized my arm and gazed into my -face. - -"No, Sire." - -"She is fighting her way through the men.... -She calls them fools, cowards, ingrates.... They are dazed.... Only -one woman on all this island would have the courage to do that." - -"Sire, if you------" - -"She is calling, pleading; she is saying that I am the kind, wise father -of them all." - -I turned to Christopher, and found a startling transformation. No longer -was he the dull, patient, waiting man. Every nerve was strung. - -The king's mouth was open; his eyes bulged; his clutch on my arm -tightened. - -"Listen!" he commanded. "She is------" - -"Sire, you must mount the wall. We must rescue her!" - -"No, no! She is in little danger. May the gods give her strength!... -Hush! What is that?... They are going forward with the beam. She is -standing erect upon it.... Did you hear that?" - -"What, Sire?" - -"The soldiers are advancing with drawn swords." - -With a violent effort I broke the king's grasp and sprang for the -ladder, but a giant hand fell on my shoulder and thrust me back. Above -the subsiding din rose a clear, unterrified call from without: - -"Christopher! Christopher!" - -He had been waiting for that. His answer rang keen and far, and he -leaped upon the ladder. - -"Come when I call," he said to us. - -In a moment he was on the wall. In another he had deliberately sent -the ladder crashing to the ground. He studied the outer scene a moment, -crouched, and sprang into the maelstrom. - -Five thousand throats opened at the spectacle. - -"The gate, Sire! Give me the gate key!" I shouted. - -"No! It would be death. The ladder!" - -I knew that Christopher must have acted intelligently in throwing the -ladder. Had he done it merely to delay our ascent? When it was up, the -king interposed before my clutch at the rungs. - -"Your king first," he said. - -"Mount then, Sire, in heaven's name," cried I, cursing inwardly at the -delay and my own impotence. - -"Stay below until I summon you," said his Majesty. - -"Your appearance at this time may bring ruin to us all." - -Vaguely realizing that he was in the right, I gritted my teeth and -waited. - -Meanwhile, what was happening to Christopher and Lentala in that swirl -of blind mob passion beyond the wall, and what meant the groans of men -and the clang of metal? Christopher might save her life until the king -should create a diversion, but what could a man do for himself, with a -hundred swords at his breast? - -As with dignity and deliberation King Rangan stepped upon the broad -top of the wall, the afternoon sun came forth in imperial splendor, and -wrapped him in its glory. He slowly faced the mob, raised his hand, and -held it firmly aloft. - -He had been seen before assuming the impressive attitude, and a mighty -shout of mingled adoration and derision arose; it continued jarringly -till he raised his hand; then gradually it fell into the deep roar of -breakers after a storm, and thus faded to a silence broken only by -the rumble of distant hordes moving on the palace. The king swept the -multitude with his gaze, and spoke: - -"Your king has grown old in service to his people, and now------" - -"Gato! Gato! Give us Gato!" - -"Every true subject of mine holds his life at the service of his king." - -"Give us Gato!" - -The king stood in an iron silence. - -"Show us Gato! We must see him! We must have him!" - -Rangan raised both arms, and a hush fell. - -"Very well," his deep voice rang out. "You shall have Gato." - -Before I could recover from my surprise he turned to me, tossed me a -key, and in a manner that showed his perfect seriousness, ordered me to -bring Gato immediately. - -"Is all well with my brother and Lentala, Sire?" I begged. - -"Yes, but go at once!" - -I dashed through the grounds and the palace to the dungeon door, which -upon reaching I flung open, and, unable to see within, said sharply: - -"Bring Gato." An echo as of emptiness buffeted my voice. "Be quick!" I -called. - -A stir began to rise. "What is going on?" stole a voice. - -"Bring Gato!" I shouted, with a fury in my voice that brought immediate -response. - -The shadows took dim shapes, stooped and lifted something heavy, and -shuffled hastily toward the door. - -"On my shoulder!" I rapped. - -They laid him across. I slammed the door, locked it, staggered up the -steps, and arrived at the foot of the ladder. - -The king was still addressing the mob, but his glance fell upon me in -answer to my call. - -"Bring him up," he commanded. Again turning to the crowd, he said: "Gato -is here. You shall see him; you shall have him. From him you will learn -what it means to betray your king." - -I was nearly at the top of the ladder, which sagged and cracked under -the double weight. The king made a detaining gesture toward me. - -"Where is the ladder that I ordered?" he asked of those without. - -"Here, Sire," answered a liquid voice that ran sweetly over the wall and -into my heart. - -"Place it, you men. Good. Now you shall have Gato." - -I clambered upon the top. - -"Stand him up to face the people," directed the king for all to hear. - -I dragged the stiffening Gato to his feet, and, my breast against his -back and my arms locked round his body, turned him to the crowd. An -inability to credit the senses held them dumb at first. They looked from -one to another, horror in their eyes. His Majesty was calmly observing; -then he spoke in the awed silence, and his voice carried grief and pity. - -"You have called for Gato. Behold him! The gods have long, swift arms -for those who strike at your king and you, O my people!" - -A groan swept over the multitude; it passed, leaving a stillness -inconceivably impressive. - -"You wished to see Gato; you have seen him. You demanded him; you shall -have him." He gave me an order. - -I raised Gato aloft, and started toward the gate, where the soldiers -were massed. In a loud voice the king cried: - -"Unfaithful soldiers of the king, take your leader!" - -[Illustration: 0253] - -I hurled Gato down among them. The heavy body struck something,--I did -not see what. Lentala was standing between the soldiers and the gate. -Neither Christopher nor Mr. Vancouver was anywhere visible. The people, -including the soldiers, were smitten deeply. - -"Lentala!" rang the king's voice. - -A way to the foot of the ladder opened, and the king gave her a hand at -the top. Deep sadness was in her eyes, as she turned them for a moment -upon me. - -The king, still holding her hand, reached for mine also. Standing thus -between us, he addressed the throng: - -"My people, these two and the one who leaped from the wall have been -tried as by fire. They would die for their king if he but gave the word. -You have seen Gato. Behold these!" - -He gazed on the cowed soldiers, and resumed: - -"Soldiers of the king, did I but raise my hand, thousands of my loyal -and loving people would rend you where you stand. What should be done, -my children," turning to the mob, "to honored and trusted sons who would -steal upon their father to strike him down with an assassin's knife?" - -A murmur which rapidly swelled, and a stir which began to seethe, warned -the king. - -"Peace!" he cried. "A king can forgive. My soldiers were never bad at -heart; they were led away. Soldiers of the king, raise a hand in token -of your loyalty." - -Every one obeyed. Besides those at the gate were many throughout the -crowd. - -"Your faithless leader gone, I appoint Lentala, my daughter, as -commander of the army." - -There was a craning of necks. The soldiers made no concealment of their -surprise, but in their gratitude for the king's pardon shouted their -acceptance. - -The king laid his hand on Lentala's head. - -"I now make this proclamation: I am old and broken, and the grief of -this day has brought me near the end. To this one, true and wise, -brave and devoted, so deeply loved and trusted by us all, I resign the -ruler-ship of my people." He removed his crown and cloak, and placed -them on her. "Obey her as you love her, and peace and security will -abide with you. This is your ruler henceforth." He raised both arms, -and, after a pause, cried, "Obeisance and greetings to Queen Lentala!" - -A thrill ran through the gathering, and all sank to the ground. I was -on my knees at her feet, pressing her fingers to my lips and trying to -speak. - -"Joseph!" she scolded under her breath, giving my hand a little squeeze; -"don't do that! How can I cry when you are so absurd!" Tears were -falling from her lashes. She turned, put her arms on the king's -shoulders, and bowed her head, while mighty salvos of huzzas rent the -skies. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII.--Wit and Dash to the Fore. - -_The New Sovereign Assumes Charge. Our Plans for Escape Go Awry. Victims -Taken to the Sacrificial Altar. A Bold Act Turns a Tragic Event._ - - -IT was some time before Lentala could lift her face to her subjects. -The king's renunciation--the finishing touch to the bold diplomacy with -which he had turned the crisis--had come to her as a bolt from heaven. I -wondered how it would affed her deeply laid plans for the rescue of -the colony; for, though it would give her extraordinary power, it would -abruptly check her irresponsible freedom of movement. Furthermore, it -had thrust upon her the necessity for swift rearrangement. Her hold on -neither the people nor the army had been firmly secured. I knew that -her quick understanding apprehended the new complications, and that she -understood the king's wisdom fitted to the hour's need. She gave me a -frightened look, and brightened under my smile. - -With reassuring words the old man disengaged her hands, stepped back, -and left her to face the crowd. Thus she stood alone between us. It -seemed a cruelly trying moment in which to place a girl, but she made -the fight to face her duty. It was not long. Her voice, tremulous at -first, stole out clear and fine, reaching to the limits of the crowd; -and as she proceeded it came rounder and fuller, bearing the richness -that I knew. - -"Thank you, my people. With the deepest love I accept the crown, and I -pledge my life to wear it worthily. Only love and trust me as you have -loved and trusted the good father who has ruled us so long and so -kindly, and you will find me faithful. This great change comes upon us -at a trying time. Neither a king nor a queen can govern a people without -their consent and love and confidence. Give me time to show that I am -worthy of all that from you. I shall still have the advice of the good -man who has placed upon me the crown, and of his able advisers. But I -shall trust your own hearts and heads more than all the wisdom of the -palace. I shall trust your confidence in me more than my power over you. - -"We all know that there is a special cause for the present unrest. But -be patient. The problem is not difficult, and you may depend upon me and -my advisers to solve it. Every impatient act of yours shows distrust of -your government, and if you rashly do anything to weaken the power of -the crown, you lay yourselves open to dangers. The white people in the -valley are only awaiting the moment when authority is destroyed and our -people are in disorder to come forth and work havoc among us. They stand -together as one, and are cool and not afraid. Those are the greatest -powers that human beings in community can have. If you had worked your -will today, how many of you would be alive tomorrow? Our beautiful -island would have flowed with blood--the blood of our people." - -She ceased for a moment, to observe the effect. It ran as a low, -frightened murmur. - -"But nothing can go wrong if we ourselves keep cool and hold together -and trust to the crown. The army will camp tonight in the palace walls, -and every care will be taken to keep order in the kingdom. All will be -well if you yourselves are calm. Therefore I command you one and all to -go at once to your homes, and remain there in quiet and peace. No matter -though storms may come, or the earth tremble, or the fires under the -ground break forth, be not afraid; trust your queen and your army, for -we have no fear. Be as brave and cheerful as we. All your problems will -be solved, all your reasonable wishes will be granted, but that must be -done by your queen." She raised her arms in the manner of Rangan, and -impressively added: "Go now, with my love and my blessing." - -Another wave of affectionate loyalty swept over the multitude; it began -to disintegrate, and to pacify and turn back belated incomers; but a -shrill cry rose: - -"Sacrifice! Give us a sacrifice!" - -It had an instant effect. The moving crowd halted, and the cry ran to -many throats, "Sacrifice! Sacrifice!" The queen turned to old Rangan, -and he almost imperceptibly nodded. Lentala hesitated as she faced the -mob again, but refrained from looking at me. She raised her hand. - -"Be patient!" she cried. - -"Sacrifice! Sacrifice!" - -"You shall have------" - -The rest was drowned in a threatening shout. Lentala stood dazed, and -in the ensuing buzzing and movement lost any opportunity she might -have desired for further speech. So she stood as the still noisy crowd -straggled off. Unrest had been rekindled, but to what extent I could not -guess. The last loiterers often stopped to gaze at the little group on -the wall, and the army stood in soldierly ranks before the gate. - -"The army will salute the queen," commanded Lentala. - -It was finely given with the sword, and the men heartily responded to -the oath that she gave them as soldiers of the queen. With a gesture -to us that we follow, she tripped down the ladder, opened the gate, and -admitted the army to the grounds. Next, after sending to liberate the -soldiers in the dungeon, she had the palace astir with an order to -prepare for the army a feast and accommodations for the night. - -Rangan had been a silent observer of her whirlwind movements. I was not -wholly satisfied with what I saw in his face, but with whatever else -that I saw there was admiration. Obviously she was permitting him to -remain until he should be satisfied that she was capable of assuming -command of the army. As matters were quieting she asked him to go to his -wife, and he tottered away, shaking his head and mumbling to himself. - -She ordered the army to break ranks. The men showed their relief with -childish inconsequence, and scattered at will. That left us alone. -The bright look that she turned to me was a sudden change from royal -sternness to Beela's challenge. She was my little work-mate of the -valley. - -Something had risen between us; consciousness of it showed in -her glance, and I was sore without that. To have tricked me so -unnecessarily, as to Beela seemed wanton and cruel. Unreasonable as it -may appear, I had been shocked so deeply that time for recovery would -be required. I had seen the craftiness with the gentleness of the native -blood in old Rangan. I had seen his hatred of the white man, and the -merciless savagery that his show of benevolence masked. It had made me -distrustful of the native blood, which composed half of Lentala. To the -sweet, childish Beela whom I loved had been added something that------ - -"Choseph!" - -I started, but could not bring a smile into the look that I gave her, -even though the call had been Beela's. - -"Don't you want to hear what has happened to me?" she asked, ignoring my -stolidity. - -"Yes, your Majesty." - -She stiffened slightly under that address, and subtly put Beela aside -for the queen. With a hint of coldness she said: - -"At the beginning of the outbreak I foresaw that Mr. Vancouver's guard -would decamp; so I went to look after him; but he had already gone after -being left alone. I followed him. That brought me to the crowd. When I -found myself in danger there, I called Christopher. His daring leap from -the wall and the fury with which he laid about him confused the crowd. -He was helped by some loyal subjects whom his conduct inspired. I don't -know how many skulls he cracked, but no one was killed. I pointed out -the men for him to silence. No one could resist him. When he called for -the king to ascend, he took Mr. Vancouver in charge and slipped away." - -I nodded, but she must have seen my gratitude for her taking such risks -on Mr. Vancouver's account. Doubtless that was what made her eyes flash, -but at the moment I did not know why. I reflected only that two matters -of overshadowing importance must be attended to at once, and that -possibly her plans had been disarranged. - -"What has become of Christopher and Mr. Vancouver, your Majesty?" I -asked. - -"I told Christopher to take Mr. Vancouver to the hut, where Mr. Rawley -was waiting," she answered, "and then go to meet the colony." - -"Thank you. What is to be done with the colony, and what am I to do?" - -She raised her eyes, and there was no trace of Beela in them. "I had -asked Captain Mason," she answered, "to have each member of the colony -bring all the food possible, and had told him that you and Christopher -would meet him in the first darkness following the earthquake, at a -certain pass just to the west of the clearing where the sacrificial -altar is, and that as the natives would be demoralized by the -earthquake, you could lead them without much risk past the settlement to -your vessel, which might be sailed away at once." - -My wonder and gratitude at the intelligence of her plan must have shown -in my face, but her tone had no warmth when she added: - -"Fortunately, matters have turned out so that I can take the army out of -your way. The real danger lay there." - -That was why she had admitted the soldiers to the palace grounds and -locked the gate. Could any other have given so brilliant a turn to a -threatening situation? Yet I only looked at her in silence, and her face -had not a trace of the old friendliness. Perhaps it was my own fault. -There rang in my ears the demand for a sacrifice; I recalled old -Rangan's nod; I remembered the defenseless position of Rawley and Mr. -Vancouver; and the brown blood in the Senatra queen unaccountably looked -different from the brown blood in Beela. - -"Your Majesty," I said, "I will go now and see that all is well with Mr. -Vancouver; then I will go and assure a clear opening for the colony, -and arrange for Mr. Vancouver and Rawley to join us as we move down the -eastern side of the settlement to the harbor." - -"Yes," she agreed. I was turning away, but she stopped me. "You will -reflect," she said, "that many people in the island are ignorant of -what has taken place here today. I will send out runners, but still the -entire island can't be covered. All know that a white man has been held -for sacrifice to the Black Face in order to stop the earthquakes and -avert an eruption. If the earthquake returns, even the people who saw -me crowned may become uncontrollable. Should that happen, I am not -sufficiently sure of the army to trust it in stopping a sacrifice. There -is just one thing to do." - -She ceased, and regarded me waitingly. - -"What is it, your Majesty?" - -She hardened still more. "Let's consider the situation calmly. If -some very strong diversion should arise tonight, the colony could pass -through to the vessel without risk. On the other hand, the people are -alarmed and restless; they won't sleep soundly; many may be abroad in -every direction. If some of them should see the colony escaping, a cry -might be raised that would ring from one end of the island to the other. -That would mean the instant gathering of a mob which no power could -resist, and the colony would be annihilated." - -"I see, your Majesty. What diversion would prevent it?" - -"The sacrifice of Mr. Vancouver and Rawley." She spoke in a cold, -business-like tone. - -My horror must have been evident. "Your Majesty," I said with warmth, -"before that shall be submitted to, every member of our colony will die -fighting." - -She shrugged. "That is your affair. I should hate to see any of _my_ -people killed in such a clash. It is interesting to see how jealous -you are of Mr. _Vancouver's_ safety, when he had planned to destroy the -colony." - -I saw the drift of her sneer, and was angry and silent. - -"He has a very charming daughter," she went on. - -The humiliation that she was thrusting upon me was unbearable, but I -could be patient, since I carried the lives of the colony in my hands; -yet it was not pleasant to see this side of Lentala's nature. The worst -of it was that there was no possible argument to bring against hers. Mr. -Vancouver richly deserved such a fate, and so did Rawley; their meeting -it would certainly assure our escape to the _Hope_. But Lentala could -see in my attitude nothing but consideration for Annabel, and she -misconstrued that. It was all that I could do to restrain myself. - -"I think we understand each other," she remarked after a pause. - -"Do you mean," I burst out in a passion, "that you are going to order -the sacrifice of Mr. Vancouver and Rawley?" - -She looked at me steadily. Afterward I recalled the softening, the -suffering, the dumb pleading in her face, but I did not see it at the -time. - -"It doesn't appear," she quietly said, "that I am called on to tell you -any more of my plans at present. You are fully informed as to what you -may do in trying to get the colony to the ship tonight." Her manner was -entirely that of a queen to her subject. "I think you understand to some -extent what I have done to spare the lives of your people and help them -leave the island. I will add that some trusted natives will try to make -your passage to the ship safe. But it is one thing to make plans and -another to carry them out in the face of a panic. There is no foreseeing -what may happen before morning. My scouts will keep me informed every -few minutes." - -There came an awkward pause. Her head was down; she stood in a waiting -attitude. It seemed to me that all the world I loved had suddenly been -swept away. Behind the woman confronting me I knew that my dear Beela -stood sweet and laughing, all sunshine and dear womanliness. Only a fool -would let her go. - -"Beela!" I said. - -She started, and raised sorrowing eyes to mine. - -"Aren't you going with us on the _Hope?_" - -"My duty is here now, and I can think of nothing but that." - -"Does your unexpected elevation to a queenhood blot out all the past?" I -asked. - -She bit her lip. "I hadn't expected that from you," she said in sadness. - -"Then, is it Annabel?" I insisted. - -She did not answer at once. "You will see her again this evening," she -gently said. - -"Of course, but------" I saw it was useless, and wondered if she was -dismissing me. "Surely I shall see you also," I said. - -She smiled, but it was not the smile of Beela; it was that of a woman -who knows care. - -"Perhaps," she returned; "yes, of course,--I think. Meanwhile, good-by," -and held out her hand. - -I took it, and would not at first let her withdraw it; but with a little -sigh, which she tried to conceal, she turned away and walked slowly to -the palace. - -Heavy-hearted, but determined to see Lentala before the colony -sailed,--if it should ever have that good fortune,--I went about my -duty. - -The first task was to see that Mr. Vancouver was safe, for many -contingencies might arise to overwhelm Christopher. I went to the hut -where Beela had left Rawley, but it was vacant. Christopher must have -taken the two men to a spot near the pass, to meet the outcoming colony. -On going to the summit of the valley wall I faced the rising moon. When -I had come within a few hundred yards of the spot where the colony would -emerge,--it was the spot where Rawley had assaulted me,--I heard the low -moaning of a man, followed by his querulous, childish talk. At first I -marveled that Christopher should have left his charges in so exposed -a place, as it was immediately near the main trail to the sacrificial -stone. - -"Will she come soon?" Mr. Vancouver plaintively asked. - -"Very soon. Be patient," kindly answered Rawley. - -The men were invisible in the gloom, but it was imprudent for them to -be speaking aloud. Yet I dared not show myself, lest Mr. Vancouver be -thrown into noisy mania. Should the natives be seeking him, it would -be easy to trail him to this spot; and the colony might be discovered -through his presence. Again Mr. Vancouver broke the silence. - -"She doesn't suspect me, does she?" - -"She is and always will be your loyal daughter." - -"I know." His voice was not a madman's. "Raise my head a little. It is -bursting. Rawley, I'm damned. The visions I've had! In one of them two -men came, looking like natives, but speaking English. One of them spoke -of my treachery and my death. I tried to kill him. The other prevented -me, and then I saw that they were Tudor and Christopher. And today the -one looking like Christopher rescued me from a hell of madmen. But how -could I stay in that cabin when Annabel was coming?" - -A rumbling and a quivering of the earth hurried me on. I ran to the edge -of the valley wall. This brought me nearly opposite the Black Face. I -had noticed a faint, weird light on the trees; now I saw the origin of -it,--a purple flame was issuing from an orifice below the Face. It waved -upward like an inverted streamer, wreathing the Face and lending to it a -ghastly lifelikeness. - -From below me rose faint cries of terror, quickly stilled, and soon the -vanguard of the colony arrived from the valley. The earth-trembling had -ceased; the flame was subsiding. - -There was some trouble at first in making myself known. Annabel came -up with Captain Mason and Christopher, and delayed my disclosure of the -plan for escape. - -"Where is my father?" she immediately asked. - -I informed her, and learned that Christopher had told her all that he -knew. - -"Take me to him," she begged. - -I replied that it would be safer to bring him to her. Directing -Christopher to fetch a stretcher from which a woman had just been -lifted, I left with him as the slender procession crept to the summit. -Deep anxiety showed under Christopher's calm exterior. - -Mr. Vancouver and Rawley were gone! A hasty search in the vicinity -failed to discover them. We worked down to the trail leading to the -clearing where the sacrifices were made. There we found a stream of -silent, soft-footed natives hurrying toward the clearing. No speech -was needed between Christopher and me to explain the situation. -Christopher's wise plan had gone tragically awry. It had not been -difficult for the dognosed natives to trail Christopher to the hut, and -then Rawley and Mr. Vancouver to the spot where I had found them. - -I was thrown into a momentary confusion. Lentala alone had known whither -Christopher was to take Mr. Vancouver, and she had argued for his -sacrifice as the surest means to save the colony! The thought was -sickening. But it was inconceivable that _Beela_ should have the heart -for such a course,--sweet, gentle Beela! And had not Lentala nearly -forfeited her life to the mob in trying to rescue Mr. Vancouver? - -Christopher had slipped from my mind; but I observed him now, and he was -listening far. I waited, knowing that by this time the two victims were -already at the altar, and that the earthquake a few minutes ago had -lent a fierce impetus to the proceedings. I could mentally see the main -settlement and its outlying regions swarming as the whispered news flew -from mouth to mouth that two white victims for the sacrifice had been -found. - -Christopher soon turned to me. - -"They'll have to get wood, sir," he said. - -"Yes. That will take time, but there are many men." - -Lentala had said that her scouts would report often; but there was a -chance that they would either conceal the present movement from her or -give her the news too late. Even should she be starting at that -moment, it would not be possible for her to arrive in time to stop the -sacrifice. Yet she should be informed. If she refused to come, then I -should know---- - -"Christopher," I said, "go and tell the queen." I said nothing of a -desperate plan that I had formed. - -Christopher looked at me strangely. "Yes, sir," he replied. "And you can -save 'em." - -He gave me a look of dog-like love, and vanished. - -I returned to Captain Mason, avoiding Annabel, and rapidly placed the -entire situation before him. His jaws set hard in the moonlight. I -could imagine his thoughts, which no doubt agreed with Lentala's; and I -realized the terrible risk to the colony when the fanatics should find -themselves balked in the sacrifice and should swarm in a search which -the colony could not escape--unless my plan should prove successful to -the last detail or the queen should bring up the army in time to -prevent a battle. And there was mighty Christopher, the man of courage, -resourcefulness, and prompt action. I hurled these arguments at Captain -Mason, and pointed out Annabel, standing alone and suffering as she -awaited her father. - -"You and Hobart and I will make the dash," I urged. "It is the only -chance, and we must hurry. Dr. Preston can be taken into the secret, and -can quietly prepare the men to fight if necessary. They are all armed; -the savages are not." - -He responded by calling Dr. Preston and charging him as I had suggested, -particularly warning him not to alarm the colony. Then he went to -Annabel and gave her some quieting explanation. I borrowed a capable -knife from a sailor, and we set out. - -We bore down to the trail, and found it still swarming with a scurrying -horde, all proceeding with a stealthy swiftness. Then I struck out on -a straight course through the tangled forest, leading Captain Mason and -Hobart a breathless pace. On arriving at the edge of the clearing and -concealing ourselves, we found hundreds of savages already assembled and -more pouring in. - -"There they are." I said, pointing to a considerable open space between -the sacrificial stone and a packed mass of men formed in a semi-circle, -those in front sitting. Midway between the stone and the natives were -the two doomed men, dim in the moonlight. The one lying on the ground -was doubtless Mr. Vancouver, perhaps unconscious. Rawley, though his -hands were tied behind him, sat erect, calmly facing his tormentors. - -As Captain Mason and Hobart had no disguise, I alone must bring the two -men out. My companions would take them to the colony; I would remain to -face the issue and divert the pursuit. Captain Mason looked very grave, -but Hobart was all eagerness; I could guess that his sore spirit yearned -to heal itself by sharing my risk. A longing for Christopher,--for his -far-seeing eye, his steady nerve, his quick hand,--came over me. - -"I remember," I explained in showing why I should not make the dash at -once, "that a ring was fastened in the rock about where Mr. Vancouver -and Rawley are sitting. They must be chained to it. I must wait until -they are released." - -We knew that the delay would mean an augmentation of the crowd and the -danger. - -Of course the theft of the wood had been discovered. The hut sheltering -it had disappeared; its poles and dryer thatch were already piled on the -altar. The sacrifice was only delayed, for two-score natives were coming -in with dry wood for which they had foraged. In that pursuit one came -near us, and I made ready, but in his eagerness he passed on, unseeing. -The priest at the altar received the wood, examined it, cast out the -useless, and carefully stacked the pyre, which steadily grew. - -Silence rested on the crowd. Here was religion in its naked birth,--the -elemental man using torture and murder for prayer, with greater -reverence and faith than I have seen in some modern fashions of -placation or appeal. Fronting them across the dim chasm of the valley -was the embodied Force whose wrath must be appeased. Could the white -blood in Lentala permit this form of worship? - -We could see through the trees the indefinite black mass of the Face. At -small intervals came low subterranean growls and slight tremors of -the earth. It was as though the underground gods were gathering their -strength. - -Finally the priest's work was done. He slowly went to the chained men, -stood over them, and raised his hand. Four men came forward, followed by -four others, who took positions back of him. Twenty more came and formed -a cordon about the altar. - -The first four knelt, and the chains fell clanking. Rawley rose without -assistance. Being speechless with a gag, he implored in dumb show for -Mr. Vancouver, offering himself alone. There was a low colloquy between -the priests and the four, at the end of which his gesture commanded that -Mr. Vancouver also be taken to the stone. As two men stooped to lift -him and two others took each an arm of Rawley, the priest began a -solemn chant in a minor key, and started the slow march to the pyre, Mr. -Vancouver on the shoulders of two men, Rawley walking firm and erect. - -At the altar the priest ceased his chant, which was taken up by the -crowd; but, though there were many hundreds of voices, they were so soft -and in such fine unison that the volume was hardly greater than that of -a dozen men. As it proceeded, the priest picked up a vessel containing -smothered coals, blew them into life, and ignited the thatch at the four -corners. Evidently the victims were to be further tied, and tossed aloft -when the fire was hot. - -As the priest stepped back to see the blaze rise, I bounded into the -open. - -I remember that the fire was hot in my face as I reached Rawley and -nipped his thongs, and that the astonishment on the priest's face was -comical. Also, I was conscious of a numbness in my right hand. I had -used my fist perhaps more vigorously than necessary. Two or three -natives were prone when I shouldered Mr. Vancouver and called to Rawley, -and the darkness of the forest soon concealed us. - -A roar delayed by astonishment rose behind us; a thousand devils had -opened throat and were leaping to the pursuit. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII.--The Great Catastrophe. - -_A Powerless Ruler Confronts a Mutiny. Death of the Sovereign -Demanded. The Army Under My Command. Christopher's Sacrifice. The Final -Cataclysm._ - - -AFTER a hard run, I laid Mr. Vancouver across Hobart's shoulder. There -was no need to urge all speed to the colony. I turned back to meet the -pursuers, and ran swiftly until I encountered the foremost. Before they -had seen me I dropped to the ground and was diligently examining it when -they came up and halted, others running behind. - -"Which way?" inquired the first. - -"Stand back!" I said. "I have the trail." - -They obeyed, but my knife was ready for a contingency. I pretended -to lose the signs, but found them again, followed a few paces, and -announced that the fugitives had turned there and headed for the trail. -"That will bring them into a trap," I added, "for people are still -coming up the trail to the clearing. I will follow the runaways and give -the alarm. You men spread up and down here, for they may double back. -When others come from the clearing, turn them all back, for they will -spoil the trail and I never can find it again. Then you too go back if -you don't hear from me very soon. Send a man at once to the priest, and -tell him to hold the people there, and to order up more wood and prepare -for the sacrifice. I am a Suminali man and can trail like a dog." - -I was turning away, but paused, to make sure of them. "Have you heard -the news from the palace?" I inquired. - -"No." - -"The king has given the crown to Lentala, and the command of the army -also." - -It surprised them. "Where's Gato?" asked one. - -"He disobeyed the king, and is dead," I answered. "Tell the news to the -priest. Spread it among the crowd." It was on my tongue to add that the -queen would soon appear with the army and disperse the crowd, but there -were dangers in it, and I held my peace. Sufficient for the present that -I had stopped the pursuit. - -[Illustration: 0275] - -On arriving at the road to the clearing I found a commotion, and learned -that the army was rapidly approaching. The people did not know how to -take that news,--whether it meant a forwarding or a breaking up of the -sacrifice. - -There came a scrambling of stragglers to escape the army, which advanced -on the trot, Christopher running in front. He saw me, wheeled, and -raised his hand. I knew that his glance at my face had told him -the whole story. My heart swelled to see Lentala, borne aloft in an -uncanopied crimson velvet palanquin emblazoned with the royal insignia. -Her dress was the one she had worn at the feast, with the addition of -the crown. In her hand she carried a naked sword, fine and lean. - -"Make way for the queen!" at intervals shouted a man running ahead of -the queen and behind Christopher. - -On seeing Christopher's signal she raised her sword, and the palanquin -halted. She was anxiously watching the glow from the altar fire, but her -glance discovered me, and a surprised joy sprang to her face. - -"Am I too late?" she called in English. - -"No, your Majesty. All is well." - -"Choseph!" she chokingly cried, throwing her sword away and seizing both -my hands. - -It was a public scandal. The soldiers stared. - -I gave her a warning look, and said, "Your Majesty!" - -She drew away with freezing dignity. A soldier picked up her sword, -wiped it as he would a baby's face, knelt, and handed it to her. She -slammed it angrily into its scabbard, gave me a crushing glance, -and opened her lips to speak, but I drove the words back by suddenly -dropping in an obeisance. I would have given a good deal to see her face -in the long pause before she bade me rise. My face was grave as I met -her angry, suspicious gaze. - -"This is no time nor place to make fun of me," she cuttingly said. - -"I beg your Majesty's pardon." - -She was studying me. "You have seen Annabel, I suppose?" she inquired. - -"Yes, your Majesty." - -"And talked with her?" - -"Yes, your Majesty." - -"You--were glad--to see each other?" - -"Very, your Majesty." - -"She is as lovely as ever?" - -"Quite, your Majesty." - -She examined the splendid jewel in the head of her sword-hilt, looked up -with a composed face, and demanded that I tell her what had happened. I -did so, and she beamed, forgetting Annabel. - -"I'll take the army to the clearing," she said, "put a stop to the -nonsense, and send the people home." - -She said it confidently, either ignoring the danger or ignorant of it. -Evidently her purpose was the protection of the colony, but I surmised -that some power greater than hers would be required. Christopher had -been standing near, a silent listener. - -Her imposing arrival had a strong effect on the restless mob as in the -cross-light of the moon and the altar fire she stood up in the palanquin -and raised her sword for attention. She told them of her crowning, made -a plea for their confidence, and commanded them to go home. But she said -nothing about a sacrifice. - -No sign of obedience appearing in the crowd, she gave me a glance that -sought guidance. I knew that the moment was critical and the risk great, -but it seemed the only recourse. I glanced at the army. She understood, -hesitated a moment, and ordered the soldiers to clear the place. A -slight movement and a buzz ran through the ranks, but there was no -forward movement. Then rang a cry, instantly taken up till it became a -roar: - -"Sacrifice! Sacrifice!" - -Lentala sprang to the ground, waved the palanquin-bearers away, and with -a free sword confronted the soldiers, her head high, her eyes flashing. -I knew she realized that there was but one way out of the desperate -dilemma, and that she was casting about to find it without a confession -of failure. Clearly she knew that, although old Rangan had deeply -planted a sense of loyalty in the soldiers, she was hampered both by -a want of experience in handling them and by the pressure of the mob -behind her, which was swelling its demand for a sacrifice to a mutinous -outbreak that the soldiers would have no spirit to meet, they being in -sympathy with the movement. It became necessary for me to act. - -I sprang forward and prostrated myself before her. - -"Rise," she said, extending her sword over me. - -When I had come to my feet she gave me her sword, and said, her voice -ringing clear and far: - -"I must go among my people and quiet them. You were King Rangan's -friend; you are the man who threw Gato from the wall,--Gato, who had -been unfaithful to his sovereign. I give you command of my army while I -go among my people." - -I took her sword and promptly faced the bewildered ranks as Lentala -drifted away; but not until I had seen that Christopher was observing; -he would understand that I had turned her over to his protection. - -It was fortunate that on the beach and during the march to the valley I -had closely observed Gato's method of handling his men. They were crude -soldiers and their drill was childish, but my training knew the value -of discipline to any extent, and I remembered Gato's tactics. More -important than any evolutions that they knew was the spirit of the one -commanding them. - -I rapped out an order for company formation, as the men were in loose -order. As I had expected, some of them stared at me and the others at -the rapidly growing mob spirit before them. - -It should be explained that Gato's organization was wholly different -from that of civilized nations. While the men composing the army came -nearly to half the number of a modern regiment, and while some rude -idea of subsidiary groupings had been observed, the absence of actual -experience in warfare had made the organization hardly more than a -stolid, pompous mob, and the under-officers little besides repeaters -and enforcers of the general orders. All officers were merely the -"general's" staff. - -I did the best I could with such a machine. Upon repeating my order in -a still sharper tone, and seeing only an uneasy, tentative pretense -of obedience, I sprang toward the officer whom I may call the -lieutenant-colonel, stung his cheek with the flat of my rapier, and sent -him spinning down the ranks. Another officer instantly found himself -treated to a similar slap, and another, as I continued to shout the -order. The fourth, a sullen brute, took the blow without wincing, and in -both hands began to raise his sword to cleave me. He never knew what it -was that sent his blade clattering to the ground; and his attention -at once became engaged in a spouting rip in his arm. That brought the -staring regiment to its senses; the under-officers all sprang to their -duty. - -Then, charging up and down the front rank while I raked the stomachs -of the soldiers with my sword, I ordered platoon formation. Under other -circumstances it would have been amusing to see the officers scrambling -for minor commands not already occupied. Evidently there had never -before been such sprightly movement required of them; my rapier -continually flashed, and men winced when it came near. - -Having thus secured control, I was in a dilemma. - -My purpose was to face them about, so that they should not see the -turbulence rapidly increasing in the mob; but that would bring them -facing the altar fire, which was burning emptily, reminding them that -the people had been cheated. But there was no choice; I must be where I -could face the storm breaking over Lentala and Christopher. There was no -time for marching to secure a back-presentation to the mob; I must risk -the awkwardness of a reverse formation. - -The command to about-face was promptly obeyed, and the soldiers appeared -to be surprised on finding me again before them. It was necessary to -keep them absorbed in maneuvers, which, of the simplest kind, such as -they could understand, I immediately put in force. - -This did not distract my attention from the turbulence centering about -Lentala. I saw the densely packed and highly excited mob crowding her; -I heard the shouts for a sacrifice, the calls to the army to join the -rebellion; I heard her clear, steady voice; I saw now and then glimpses -of Christopher standing as a rock behind her; and all the time my sword -was swinging and my orders were keeping the army at work. It would be -but a matter of time when I might turn it to the service of the queen, -but the danger was pressing alarmingly. - -Of a sudden there was a commotion about Lentala. Before I could turn -over the command to the officer next in rank and go to Lentala's rescue, -Christopher, bearing her on his shoulder, broke through the mob, skirted -my left flank on the run, and bounded toward the altar, the flames -of which had sunk almost to a mass of glowing coals, exceedingly hot. -Without attempting to comprehend his movement, but seeing that he had -brought the queen behind the army for some purpose, I instantly opened -the order of my men, commanded swords drawn, and cried: - -"The queen's army to her defense!" - -The command was taken up by every subordinate officer. Again the men -found me facing them as the mob came howling at my back; but the double -line stood firm as an interposing wall before the queen. Then I knew -that I had them in hand, but I dared not risk a charge, and I must see -what Christopher was doing. The tumbling mob halted before the drawn -swords. - -When Christopher reached the altar he stopped and turned, he and his -burden making a striking silhouette against the red heap of coals. She -appeared unconscious, for she hung limp over his shoulder, her arms -pendent. The halting of the mob and Christopher's pause aided his -unexpected dash in sending a hush on the crowd. In the midst of it rose -Christopher's voice for all to hear: - -"We'll sacrifice the queen! The queen!" With that he flung her to the -ground and began savagely to tear her outer skirt into strips, with the -obvious purpose of binding her. - -The scene was clear to the mob through the open ranks of my men. I was -no less appalled than were the savages at the audacity of the move and -Christopher's ferocious method of procedure. And I made no attempt to -keep the soldiers from turning their heads to see. My task was instantly -to find my cue in the drama that Christopher was playing. It came before -I was ready. As Christopher, after the binding, which required but a -moment, was carrying Lentala up to the pyre, she began to struggle, and -called: - -"My soldiers, save me!" - -I bounded through the ranks as I gave the command to about-face and -forward double-quick. But I outran the soldiers, struck Christopher -down with my sword, and caught Lentala as she was falling. The shortest -instant was needed to cut her bonds, but that was sufficient for me to -lose control of the situation. Christopher's splendid ruse had succeeded -in saving the queen from the mob, and I knew that nothing concerning -himself mattered beyond that. Indeed, I have always thought that he -deliberately chose the time to give his life for her sake. - -As the old king had said, the natives were children, and the sudden -revulsion of feeling in favor of the queen was more even than the -soldiers, who had a little discipline, could calmly bear. A wave of -passionate devotion swept over them. It was only a mob that I faced with -my sword as I stood before Lentala. Christopher was lying face downward -on the ground as he had fallen. I knew he was unhurt and free to make a -fight for his life. None could have realized more clearly than he -that the mob would take vengeance on him, but none could have better -understood that his resistance might imperil the queen. He had simply -made the bold play for her sake, had won, and then lain down to die. - -I could not bear that, nor could Lentala, who comprehended. Without -hesitation she left me and bent over him, to receive the blow, and -was careful that he should not know her purpose. I did what I could, -shouting, commanding the soldiers to form, waving my sword menacingly. -It had a staying effect, and I cannot now say with certainty that it -would have failed. - -Suddenly, with a sickening sensation, I felt the earth tremble beneath -my feet. A strange sense of dizziness, of reeling, made my movements -waver. The soldiers also were staggering, and their purpose to rend -Christopher appeared to be relaxing; but nothing could withstand the -pressure of the mob behind them. I had barely time to snatch up Lentala -and cut a way back to the altar before Christopher, whose glance found -Lentala and me safe, began to rise as the lurching horde hurled itself -upon him. - -In a staggering run, nearly tripped at every step, I bore her to the -edge of the clearing, on the side toward the colony, and hid us both in -the shadows. When I had picked her up she buried her face in my shoulder -and clung to me with both arms round my neck. - -"What is it?" she asked. - -"A volcanic eruption." - -"Where's Christopher?" - -I put my hand on her lips, and she trembled as she clung closer. She was -silent as the earthquake increased in violence, and presently asked: - -"Do you see it, Choseph?" - -I had been observing it since we were seated. "Yes. It is at the river -passage. The mountain appears to be blown out there, and------" - -"Stop!" she cried, holding me closer. - -Undoubtedly the eruption had occurred at the boiling cauldron that we -had passed under the mountain. Its first violence was already spent, and -the earthquake was subsiding; but I reflected that the water from the -valley stream and from the crimson fall must be pouring into the hot -interior, and that the end was not yet. - -The ejecta of the outburst were already falling about us from the great -height to which the explosion had thrown them. Hot stones of all sizes -rained. Had not the forest been damp, it would have broken into flame at -a thousand places. - -The writhing savages in the clearing were but dimly visible. No -definiteness came out of the mass still crowded and heaped where we had -left Christopher. All sufficiently near for me to see sat staring at the -Face, which was now clearly taking its vengeance; all were moaning and -howling, and prostrated with fear. - -A deep-red flame rose with a rushing noise from the seat of the eruption -as renewed rumblings and roarings came from the quivering ground. The -rising flame plunged into a rapidly spreading canopy of smoke and ashes -from the initial explosion. The hither edge of the vast cloud was wan in -the moonlight, but the under surface reflected the crimson of the flame. -All things adopted that dreadful hue. The green foliage took it on as -the muddy purple of decay; the brown faces of the natives looked as if -beaten to a pulp. - -There came another light, and it woke a more insidious terror. Striating -the crimson column and issuing snakily from many independent orifices -distributed over a wide area of the valley rim, was the purple flame. -And now the most wonderful of all was the great Face itself. The crimson -light caught it in profile, and thus so sharpened its features as to -make it seem a living monster of inconceivable ferocity. Nor was that -the worst. The purple flame again issued from below the face with a -great augmentation. In rising and spreading it cast a thin veil over the -visage, making it ghastly. - -[Illustration: 0287] - -The falling of heavy stones ceased, but the more numerous small ones -began to pelt us. I drew my coat round Lentala's head, and broke -tree-branches within reach to shield her body, for the stones had a -vicious sting. - -The heat was growing, both by radiation from the crimson column and by -reflection from the canopy. Flames were leaping from the forest near the -eruption, for the heat was drying the leaves. - -As the ground opened in many seams under the strain, steam found -numerous issues on the front of the opposite valley wall, near the Face. -The quaking of the earth deepened; the moans of the natives became cries -of frenzy. - -"Is it growing worse, Joseph?" - -She had been Beela since the scene at the altar, and I had nearly -forgotten Lentala. It was sweet to feel her breath on my neck as she -clung like a frightened child. - -"Be brave," I said. "Remember, we came safely through the passage." - -"I will, Joseph," but I felt a sob against my breast. - -The increasing heat began to make wild mischief in the air. Little -whirlwinds had been rising, twirling leaves upward. All at once they -ceased, leaving an ominous calm. Then came a rushing, swirling roar, -with the crashing of trees,--the noises of a tornado. I looked round. -Nearly in a line with the moon rose a spinning column bearing upward -dismembered trees, liberating them far above, and sending them down -destructively. This monster, whose seizure would mean death, was -mounting the slope in its approach to the volcano, and seemingly would -sweep the clearing in its passage. I did not know what to do, and did -not wish Lentala to see what was coming, but I must unconsciously have -given an alarming sign, for she silently caught her breath and tightened -her hold. - -As I was looking about in helplessness, an extraordinary vision of -tatters and despair staggered toward us out of the forest, peering -about. Her staring eyes found me, and she stopped in fear. - -"Annabel!" I cried. - -Lentala sprang to her feet, her terror gone, and stared for a moment; -then, springing forward, she took Annabel in her arms before I had -reached her. - -"Where is my father?" begged Annabel, recognizing us both. - -"He is safe with Captain Mason at the colony, dear," Lentala sweetly -answered. - -I confirmed the news, and because she was much more deeply shaken than -Lentala, I took her to myself and made her sit on the ground. I seated -myself beside her, took her hand, and told her cheerful things about her -father and Mr. Rawley. She had become suspicious and left the colony to -search for her father before Captain Mason's return with him. - -She was quietly sobbing in gratefulness. A woman's gentler offices were -needed now, and I looked round for Lentala. To my astonishment she had -disappeared. That alarmed me. In looking about for her without leaving -Annabel I discovered that the tornado had torn away the trees on the -opposite side of the clearing, and was breaking to pieces after tumbling -into the valley; but I could not guess what havoc, if any, it had -wrought in the clearing, and a profound uneasiness on Lentala's -account made my duty to care for Annabel irksome. Even at the best, the -collections of the tornado were falling about us and on the clearing, -and an increase of the dismal howling indicated cruel results, in -which both Lentala and Christopher might be involved. And the danger -to Annabel and me was great. I did what I could to protect her from the -merciless rain of riven timber. - -It had been impossible for me to abandon hope on Christopher's account. -Even though I believed that he had lain down in perfect content to give -his life for Lentala, the eruption had offered him an opportunity for -which he must have been ready. If he was alive and anywhere near the -zone of Lentala's danger, she would be cared for. I could accept no -other faith than that he was. - -Annabel reasonably secure and quiet, I noted the progress of the -catastrophe, knowing that Christopher would let me hear from him soon, -if at all. The trembling of the ground had become remittent and more -violent. The cries of the natives were falling to despairing moans. -The tripping ground had made their flight impossible, even had fear not -paralyzed them. Besides, the effect of the weird light on the Face was -sufficient to hold them in a fascinated helplessness. - -The volcanic pillar of fire had shortened, for the still spreading -canopy was thickening downward. The roar was louder, with occasional -detonations from lateral explosions which smashed the mountains -environing the western end of the valley and made a still wider breach -in the opening blasted by the first outbreak. The purple flame had found -new exits, lending the opposite valley wall a cadaverous light, and, -with the spreading flame issuing from below the Face, giving the -horrible visage an unspeakable hideousness. - -Worse than all that had gone before came next. The canopy suddenly -effaced the moon, and looked like an enormous mushroom on a blood-red -stem. Violent gusts of wind fell here and there with a rending force, -working havoc in the forest and among the natives. Now and then rose a -sharp solitary cry from one struck by a falling stone or spattered by -blistering mud. At times a swarm of cries rang from the dip of scorching -gases. Clouds were gathering. Lightning flashed between them and the -canopy; the crash of near thunder swelled the tumult. I tried not to -think of the colony. - -"Where is Lentala?" cried Annabel in my ear, rousing out of a -half-stupor. - -"She has gone to the clearing," I ventured. - -"Go and find her," urged Annabel in fright, forcibly withdrawing from -me. - -"How can I leave you?" - -"I am safe here, and will wait for you. Go!" - -I obeyed, staggering into the clearing and falling over the kneeling or -prostrate savages. My heart presently gave a bound of joy; for, working -side by side, fearless and devoted, were Lentala and Christopher, -apparently unhurt, and doing all they could to pacify the frantic -natives, encouraging them, binding their wounds, and sending them to -the service of others, thus rapidly starting centers of control and help -that enlarged with magical rapidity. I came near, but the two who were -dear to me did not observe, so intent were they on their duty. I had -never seen so lovely a look on Lentala's face, and I determined to let -no foolish barrier stand between us thenceforth. Christopher saw me -first, but gave no sign whatever. Then Lentala, and there was a divine -light in her startled, happy face. - -"You came to me, didn't you, Joseph?" she said, seizing my hand. - -"Annabel discovered that you were gone, and sent me to find you." - -Her face went blank, and she dropped my hand. Terrible though the -moment was, her childishness angered me. It was no time for coquettish -discipline. - -"She wants your Majesty," I said. "Shall I bring her to you?" - -Her eyes flashed, but she replied, "Take me to her." - -I tried to take her hand, in order to lead her, for the ground was -rolling and there were unpleasant things to see on the way in the red -glare; but she walked alone and as steadily as I. As we approached the -trees there came a sickening heave different from the earth-movements -before. Christopher sprang past us toward Annabel, shouting: - -"Down--on your faces!" - -I seized Lentala and lurched ahead, but before we had quite reached -Annabel and Christopher we went down in a blazing crash. - -***** - -"Shake yourself up, sir," came in a thin voice from a great distance. - -I could open my eyes but a moment under the vigorous shaking that -Christopher gave me, for slimy, warm drops were falling on my face; but -I had met the darkness that the blind know. A painful throbbing made my -head roll as Christopher dragged me to shelter and propped me against a -tree. - -"Where are we?" I asked. My groping hands found a prone body at my left. -I opened my eyes, and the world was blotted out. - -"Keep still, sir." - -"Are they both here?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Alive?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Choseph!" came feebly from the body under my hand. - -My arms went round her and drew her up. - -"Where's Annabel, Christopher?" I asked. - -"On your right, sir." - -"Unconscious?" - -"Yes, sir." - -Lentala lay collapsed in my arms. The rain of mud from the canopy -pattered and splashed about us. The ground was still, and there was -hardly a sound except the slimy drip. - -"The volcano has stopped, hasn't it?" - -"Yes, sir." - -I asked the next question in the conviction that I had been stricken -blind: "Is there any light at all?" - -"No, sir." - -Lentala clutched me. "I'm glad, Choseph! I thought I was blind." - -"What happened, Christopher?" I asked. - -"The world blew up, sir." - -"What then?" - -"Darkness." - -The rain had extinguished the forest fires, and the sirupy drip was -mingled with the hissing of hot stones. There was nothing to do but -wait. Wails began to creep out of the silent clearing. Lentala drew -away. - -"Poor children!" she said. "I can teach them better now. There's a good -life ahead for me here." Clearly she was thinking of nothing else, and -she said it with a simple earnestness. During all these dark months her -every plan and act had been for her own and our escape from the island. -I had thought that she accepted the crown as a temporary expedient to -restore order and save the colony; but now I knew that, while she still -intended to send us safely away, she had severed all other bonds and -would give her life where it was most needed. The conduct of the people -during the eruption had given the finishing touch to her decision. It -was the putting away of all her hopes and dreams; it was the dismissal -of me. - -I sat a moment in a desolate silence, and found her hand. She returned -my clasp, but it was different from any she had ever given me before. It -grew firmer, imparting a silent message of finality. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV.--The Parting Hour. - -_A Chapter of Startling Surprises. The Fate of the Black Face. A Story -of Two Girls. Wanted--a Coadjutor to the Crown. Beela Comes Back at -Last._ - - -Here was something portentously solemn in Christopher's manner when he -came one brilliant morning with a summons from the queen to lunch with -her and Annabel. I was aware of Captain Mason's notice to her Majesty -that in two hours the colony, which had been royally entertained in the -palace and its adjunct buildings since the great catastrophe, would file -past to bid her farewell. My absorbing duties in directing the stowing -of the _Hope's_ cargo had kept me away from the queen and Annabel, -who had become devoted friends; but a more potent barrier had been her -Majesty's cold reserve under her assumption of her queenly duties, which -had been exceedingly severe. The destruction of the Black Face by the -eruption had been joyously accepted as heaven's endorsement of her -accession to the throne, and the natives idolized her. - -Nothing seemed clearer than her wish that I do my part to make as smooth -as possible her determination to forget what had passed between us. - -Confident, therefore, that she would carry off the parting pleasantly, -and appreciating her kindness in inviting me, and her tact in providing -for Annabel's presence, I went with as stout a heart as I could command. -Christopher and I had long ago laid aside our disguise. He led me in -silence to the private room where Lentala had dreamed of a bright life -far away. A table was set daintily for three; and as there were no -native attendants, I knew that Christopher was to serve. Rangan was -near the end of his days, and Rawley gave constant attendance on deeply -stricken Mr. Vancouver. - -As I entered, I heard the queen and Annabel chatting with astonishing -gaiety in an adjoining room, the doorway into which was closed with a -curtain. Whatever they were discussing was interrupted by my entrance. - -"Choseph!" came challengingly from beyond the curtain. It was Beela's -voice, though every trace of her had disappeared since the eruption. - -"Your Majesty," I responded. - -"Nonsense! Aren't you going to behave?" It was Beela's scold and -the impatient stamp of her foot. "I'm not quite ready. Annabel will -entertain you." - -Annabel came out. The sparkle in her eyes and the flush in her cheeks -showed that she was excited, despite her effort to appear at ease. -Christopher's strange manner had already made me watchful, and I caught -the knowing look that Annabel gave him. My heart bounded. Could it be -that the queen had decided to renounce her kingdom and go with us? It so -deluged me that for a moment I did not heed the chatter proceeding from -the other room. - -"Choseph!" came thence; "have you neither ears nor a tongue?" The voice -rang with a cheer that even Beela's had never known. "Here I've been -trying to make you guess why I'm so happy, and you don't show the -slightest interest." - -"I'd be glad to know," I returned. - -"Annabel and her father and Mr. Rawley have decided not to go away, -and Annabel and Mr. Rawley are going to be married!" She hurled it -breathlessly, as a child in a hurry to tell important news. - -So that was the great secret. But why had they kept it from me? An acute -silence within accompanied my own. I was smiling at Annabel, who blushed -deliciously. - -"Christopher!" - -"Your Majesty." - -"Don't say that. I hate it. Do you love me?" - -"Yes, ma'am." - -"But you are going to leave me." She said it dolorously. - -"No, I ain't, ma'am." - -Something was dropped clattering to the floor within, and then came a -sudden hush. - -There was the queerest, brightest twinkle in Annabel's eyes as she -studied me. In astonishment I glanced at Christopher. The look with -which he met mine was one of benevolent kindness. - -"Dear old Christopher!" came softly from the other room; then, after a -pause, "How can Mr. Tudor manage without you?" - -"He can't, ma'am." He made the audacious answer while calmly regarding -me. - -Can it be believed that I dared not see Lentala's challenge, and that -something which I could not master held me a silent fool in the chair? -Surely there must be men besides me whom love makes humble and timid. I -have seen men love with a different measure; I have seen love make them -bold and reckless. - -Christopher had adroitly seated me with my back to the curtain. Hence -I did not see a signal that Annabel, who was facing it, must have -received, for with some excuse she withdrew, taking Christopher. - -The queen's voice was close to the curtain as she called in a -breathless, frightened way, "Choseph!" - -"Your Majesty." - -Before I could rise she was on me like a whirlwind, clapping her hands -over my eyes from behind and pressing me down into the seat. Her cheek -rested on my head. I thought the beating of my heart would suffocate me. - -During the silence I sat in a trance. One soft hand held my eyes closed; -the other slipped down and was pressed on my lips. I knew that Beela had -come back, and I would submit to any outrage from her. - -"Choseph," she said in her sweet, coaxing voice, "sit still and don't -try to speak. You are much more interesting when you don't talk. And -then, I don't want to be interrupted, for I'm going to tell you a story. -It is about two girls and a man. Nod if you want to hear it." - -I nodded. - -"The girls are named Beela and Lentala. The man imagines he is or _was_ -in love with one of those girls." The voice above my head became very -impressive. "Now, sir, you are the Man." - -Nod. - -"We'll easily agree that Lentala is much more dignified and reserved -than Beela." - -Nod. - -"And never so erratic and unconventional." - -Nod. - -"And that Beela is rude and bold, wears outlandish clothes, and adopts -scandalous disguises." - -My head was still for a time, so happy was I in her delicious fooling; -then I nodded enthusiastically. - -I knew she was trying to suppress a laugh; she ostentatiously sighed, -and said: "You agree to that. It isn't all. She tells fibs, and is -heartless and cruel." I was motionless for a breathless space, and then -nodded viciously. There came a long, still pause. I could bear it no -longer. - -"Choseph! Stop! You hurt my wrist," and again she held me prisoned. -"There. Be quiet. Well," with a resigned sigh, "I suppose the foolish -man will keep on loving Beela and hating Lentala, and end by breaking -poor Lentala's heart." - -I am not positive that I entirely succeeded in suppressing my laugh. - -"It has to be Beela, then," the sweet voice went on. "But, Choseph, -suppose the madcap should really be very different from what she ever -appeared to you, and you should discover that she had deceived you -about an important matter,--you can't be certain that you know all her -disguises,--wouldn't you think her unworthy of your trust and love?" - -A very decided shake, and above me a soft laugh and a little squeeze of -my head. - -"Choseph, you know you had suspicions about her skill in staining you -and Christopher." - -I had nearly forgotten it; but as her father had been a white man -and her mother a native, her skin would require some staining to look -exactly like a native's. I made no response to her speech. - -"Choseph, suppose a very little girl born in some other country had -been wrecked with her father on this island. She might have been yellow, -or--or almost anything. As she grew, it might have become necessary that -she be given the color of the natives." There was a pause, and then came -the hurried question, "She'd still be the same girl, wouldn't she?" - -I nodded, simply to please her, for her chatter meant no more to me than -that Beela was playing and teasing. - -"Think, Joseph." She was really serious. "Once, when Lentala dressed -like Annabel, you were shocked, and said some strange things that made -her very unhappy and uneasy, and she was afraid to tell you the -whole truth. And for other reasons she thought it best to keep up the -deception. Could _anything_ new that you might learn about her change -your regard?" - -I shook my head, but was puzzled and uneasy. - -"Then," she gently said, pressing her sweet cheek to my temple, "it -could make no difference at all what her real color is?" - -Of course I shook my head. It was impossible for me to accept the absurd -suggestion, and my simple lie could do no harm in her pretty play. - -She straightened, drawing a deep breath. "That is a promise," she said. -"There's something else. Now, no matter if, in showing her love and pity -for the poor grown children who need her, she permits these islanders -the harmless play of calling her their queen when they mean their -leader, their teacher, their mother,--wouldn't she still be only Beela, -and none the worse for accepting that love and trust and duty?" - -My nod was reverential. - -"But, Joseph, she would know her utter inability to discharge that task. -She would stumble; she would fall many a time. There would come dark -hours when she yearned in bitter loneliness for the help of a wise head -and sure hand; for there is a people to civilize as well as govern. -Joseph, the heart of a woman is a woman-heart under either a toy crown -or a real one." - -I gave no sign. There came a long pause, a deep breath, and a sudden -change of tone. - -"Joseph, suppose that some day a big, fine cavalier, with a tender heart -and a strong hand, should drift to the poor little kingdom and find its -queen torturing her soul over problems that would look so large to her -and so small to him. It seems to me that he would be moved to offer her -his services. She might make him her Prime Minister." - -I tore myself loose, rose, and confronted her. Gazing at me was a -beautiful young white woman, frightened and blushing, a thousand -startled imps dancing in her eyes as she backed away. I was profoundly -shocked. - -"Forgive me, Joseph." It came tenderly, wistfully, from the perfect lips -of Beela and in her dear voice. And those were her eyes; that was -her delicate, high-bred nose, and that her light hair. And she was as -daintily dressed as ever Annabel had been. - -"Choseph!" she cried, stamping in a passion as I gazed in silence. - -So overcoming a weakness assailed me that I had to catch the top of a -chair. - -"Of course I understand," I said, unevenly, and floundered on, with -pauses: "I might have guessed, but... a cherished ideal is very real to -me. When I lost Beela and found Lentala, I lost what I had come to love. -No, not lost,--I am very foolish and blundering." - -"No, Joseph." Her smile was dazzling. - -"It never could be lost while I lived, and would live had she died. It -was Lentala, not Beela, who put Beela away, and then me." - -"You know what I thought, Joseph. I meant to be kind. And I never had -the least idea until today that Annabel cared for Mr. Rawley. I thought -she loved you, and that you had been very fond of her till Beela came. I -reasoned that it would be best for you to go to your own country, marry -Annabel, and forget Beela." - -That sweet speech explained everything, but it was not possible for me -to feel the ease in the presence of her radiant loveliness that I had -felt toward Beela, the child-woman, the sprite, who could flutter into a -man's heart and abide forever. I managed to say bluntly: - -"I understand. And now that all is clear, may I stay and do whatever -lies in my power and devotion to help you?" - -She was regarding me curiously, and with a touch of uneasiness. "Simply -because I've asked you?" she demanded. - -"It is my dearest wish." - -Still the strange look was in her eyes. I dared not interpret it as my -heart commanded; I had never loved a woman before, and needed time to -gather my courage. Of a sudden an impulse moved me to step forward, take -her hands, and look deep into her eyes. - -"Let me stay," I begged. - -"I'd be glad and proud if you would, Joseph. You know Captain Mason is -to return with the _Hope_ as soon as he can, and will bring teachers -and a clergyman from America, and Annabel and Mr. Rawley will be married -then." - -I do not know what it was that she saw--or that her sensitive pride made -her see--in my face that made her quickly withdraw her hands and step -back as her eyes flashed and her cheeks crimsoned. - -"Joseph! I never dreamed that you could think I meant--_that!_" - -"It was my love, my joy, dear heart. When the clergyman comes----" - -Annabel and Christopher entered. The queen flew at her, embraced her and -kissed her, and then, standing off in front of Christopher, cried in a -teasing voice: - -"Christopher, you _do_ love me, don't you?" - -"Yes, ma'am," he placidly answered as he set the chairs for luncheon. - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lentala of The South Seas, The -Romantic Tale of a Lost Colony, by W. C. 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